Russia holding close to 30 German citizens in jail

BERLIN – The German government has revealed that close to 30 German citizens are currently in detention in Russia.

The German government also said, in a response to a written question from elected parliamentary member Andrej Hunko, that around half of them also have Russian citizenship.

“It cannot be ruled out that there are other detainees with German citizenship of whom the Federal Government has no knowledge to date,” the government added. The written response was made available to dpa in Berlin.

A 38-year-old German was recently detained at the airport in the western Russian city of St Petersburg for having cannabis-oil gummy bears in his luggage.

Customs officials said that a bag containing six edibles weighing a total of 20 grams had been found on the man when he entered Russia. A quick test revealed that the sweets contained tetrahydrocannabinol – the main active ingredient in cannabis.

If convicted of drug possession, the German traveler could face up to seven years in prison in Russia, the RBC media outlet reported.

According to Russian reports, he had flown from Hamburg to St Petersburg via Istanbul.
In its reply to Hunko, the German government pointed out that Germany’s Foreign Office had warned of the risk of arbitrary arrests in Russia in its travel and security advice.

Last week, the Russian investigative media outlet Mediazona published extracts from the Russian wanted persons register, which show that numerous Western politicians are listed there.

The journalists mainly reported on high-ranking representatives from the Baltic states, including Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.