The Khimki Court in the Moscow region handed a sentence to Andre Khachaturian, a United States citizen detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport with a pistol. The court issued eight years in a penal colony. This decision was reported by DEA News.
According to the court, Khachaturian will serve eight years in a penal colony. He had traveled from the United States to Armenia with a layover in Moscow. In December 2021, he was detained in the transit area of a Russian airport in possession of a Glok-17 pistol, with ammunition still attached to the firearm. The weapon and ammunition were kept in a locked state, with the key in Khachaturian’s possession at the time of detention.
Khachaturian faced charges of weapon smuggling under Part 1 of Article 226 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The prosecutor had sought a nine-year prison term for the American, arguing that the act constituted a serious violation with potential threat to public safety.
In the case, it was noted that Khachaturian confronted significant communication barriers while in the SIZO, or pre-trial detention facility, and among fellow inmates. He reportedly spoke only English and Armenian, complicating interactions with staff and peers during his confinement.
Earlier in August 2021, another American was detained at Sheremetyevo Airport: former U.S. diplomat Mark Vogel. Vogel faced charges related to smuggling and large-scale drug possession, highlighting the ongoing scrutiny of foreign nationals traveling through Russia on security and legal grounds.
This sequence of events underscores the tense dynamics surrounding weapons and contraband in international travel, as well as the complexities of navigating legal processes in Russia for non-R Russian speakers. The case of Khachaturian stands as a notable instance of how the Russian judiciary handles alleged weapons offenses linked to transit travel, and it continues to draw attention from observers monitoring cross-border law enforcement and international legal protocols.