俄罗斯检察官称，一名在俄罗斯非法居留的美国公民因涉嫌殴打一名警察而面临监禁。
该地区检察官周一在一份声明中称，这位68岁的男子一直与一位朋友住在奥布宁斯克，奥布宁斯克位于莫斯科西南约60英里的卡鲁加地区。
根据声明，两人发生了争吵，这名女子报警。
据检察官称，这名美国男子没有遵守一名官员的指示。然后，他用拳头打了警察，“造成身体疼痛和身体伤害。”
该地区检察官办公室称，“该男子一拳打在警察脸上，造成身体疼痛和伤害，对他的健康无害。”莫斯科时报。
检察官称，如果这名男子因袭击这名官员而被定罪，他将面临最高5年的监禁。
检察官的声明补充说，袭击警察的犯罪行为也将被处以高达20万卢布的罚款或长达五年的强迫劳动。
检察官称，这名美国男子在俄罗斯非法居留，因为他在俄罗斯的居留许可已于8月到期。
新闻周刊已联系国务院征求意见。
今年早些时候，俄罗斯在拘留了两名美国摩门教传教士三周后，将他们驱逐出境。20岁的科尔·布罗托斯基和19岁的大卫·加格三月份在新罗西斯克市被捕后，被指控罪名不明，哥伦比亚广播公司新闻报道。
2016年，宗教传教士被禁止在俄罗斯活动，但总部位于犹他州的耶稣基督后期圣徒教会告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻，它遵守规则，将这两个人注册为志愿者，而不是传教士。
与此同时，一名来自密歇根州的前美国海军陆战队队员自2018年12月以来因间谍指控在俄罗斯被拘留。公司安全主管保罗·惠兰(Paul Whelan)在俄罗斯参加一个朋友的婚礼时，在莫斯科一家酒店外被捕，美联社报道。
他否认为美国从事间谍活动的指控，并告诉记者英国广播公司九月，他被一个他认为是朋友的人陷害了。
惠兰告诉英国广播公司，“一个人出现在我[酒店的房间，把东西放进我的口袋，然后我被逮捕了。”
“那个人是[联邦安全局的官员。一个我认识十年的人。那个人绝对没有理由呆在房间里。他们没有理由给我任何类型的闪存驱动器。”
库存照片:一名俄罗斯警官。一名美国公民因涉嫌殴打一名俄罗斯警察而面临五年监禁。
U.S. MAN FACES JAIL FOR ALLEGEDLY PUNCHING A RUSSIAN POLICE OFFICER
A.U.S. citizen who was in Russia illegally is facing jail after allegedly beating a police officer, prosecutors in Russia have said.
The 68-year-old man, who has not been named, had been staying with a friend in Obninsk, a city around 60 miles southwest of Moscow in the Kaluga region, regional prosecutors said in a statement Monday.
The pair got into an altercation and the woman called the police, according to the statement.
According to prosecutors, the American man failed to comply with an officer's instructions. He then struck the officer with his fist, "causing physical pain and bodily harm."
"The man struck the police officer with one punch in the face, causing physical pain and injuries not harmful to his health," the regional prosecutor's office said, according to The Moscow Times.
The man faces up to five years in prison if convicted of assaulting the officer, prosecutors said.
The offense of assaulting a police officer is also punishable by a fine of up to 200,000 roubles or forced labor for a term of up to five years, the prosecutors' statement added.
The American man was in Russia illegally as his residence permit to remain in the country expired in August, prosecutors said.
Newsweek has contacted the State Department for comment
Earlier this year, Russia deported two U.S. Mormon missionaries after detaining them for three weeks. Kole Brodowski, 20, and David Gaag, 19, were held on unclear charges after their arrest in March in the city of Novorossiysk, CBS News reported.
Religious missionaries were banned from operating in Russia in 2016, but the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told CBS News at the time that it had followed the rules by registering the two men as volunteers instead of as missionaries.
Meanwhile, a former U.S. Marine from Michigan has been detained in Russia on espionage charges since December 2018. Paul Whelan, a corporate security director, was arrested outside a Moscow hotel while in Russia to attend a friend's wedding, The Associated Press reported.
He denies the charges of spying for the U.S. and told the BBC in September that he had been set up by someone he thought was a friend.
"A person turned up at my [hotel] room and put something in my pocket, then I was arrested," Whelan told the BBC.
"That person was an FSB [Russia's Federal Security Service] officer. Someone I had known for 10 years. There was absolutely no reason that person should have been in the room. No reason they should have given me any sort of flash drive."
Stock photo: A Russian police officer. A U.S. citizen is facing five years in prison after allegedly punching a Russian police officer.
