A Moscow court has placed U.S. citizen Joseph Tater in pretrial detention until October 14, extending his original 15-day sentence on charges of petty hooliganism.
Moscow's Meshchansky district court on August 14 originally imposed "an administrative punishment in the form of detention for a period of 15 days" however, this has been extended to two months.
Earlier, Russia's Investigative Committee said on August 14 that an American had been detained in Moscow on suspicion of using violence against a police officer.
The man was detained on August 12 on a "hooliganism" charge, it said.
U.S. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington that the State Department was aware of reports that another American had been arrested in Russia, and said, "we're working to get as much information as we can, working to ascertain the consular situation, and see if consular access is available."
Several other Americans remain behind bars in Russia even after a prisoner swap on August 1 involving 16 people that Moscow agreed to free in exchange for eight Russians jailed in the United States and Europe.
One of them, Ksenia Karelina, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for treason for transferring $51 to a Ukrainian charity in early 2022. Karelina, who is also known by her marital surname Khavana, has been held in Russia since January.
Karelina, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen, was detained by Russia's Federal Security Service in January in Yekaterinburg, where she had traveled to meet relatives. A verdict is expected on August 15.
Karelina was initially charged with hooliganism, reportedly for cursing at police officers. Security agents, however, searched her phone and said they discovered that prior to traveling to Russia she had made a $51 donation to a U.S-based organization that provides aid and assistance to Ukraine.
The August 1 prisoner swap involving the United States, Russia, and several European countries included three high-profile U.S. citizens, as well as five German citizens jailed in Russia and Belarus and eight Russian political activists held in Russia in connection with their opposition to President Vladimir Putin.
Among those freed by Russia were RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.
