U.S. pastor sentenced to three years in Russian prison

MOSCOW -- A Moscow court on Monday convicted a U.S. pastor of smuggling hunting ammunition into Russia and sentenced him to more than three years in prison.

Phillip Miles, from South Carolina, has been in custody since his arrest Feb. 3, several days after arriving in Moscow. The court sentenced him to serve three years and two months in prison, with the sentence calculated from his detention date.

Miles has said he brought the .300-caliber cartridges for a friend who had recently bought a Winchester rifle. He said he did not know bringing such ammunition into Russia was illegal.

Judge Olga Drozdova accepted in her 20-minute summation that Miles had brought the ammunition for a friend, "as they are both inveterate hunters."

The 20 cartridges were not initially found when he flew into Moscow. They were detected later as airport security put his luggage through an X-ray machine while he was on his way to check in for a flight to Perm, a city in Siberia.

Miles wore a gray jacket and clerical collar for his sentencing.

"I'm very disappointed. It's a strange sentence for one box of hunting bullets," he said as court bailiffs led him in handcuffs from the courtroom cage, where defendants in Russian criminal courts are held during trial.

His lawyer said the sentence was surprisingly severe.

"I hoped he would only be found guilty of the illegal possession of ammunition," Vladimir Ryakhovsky said.

He said the conviction for smuggling was unfounded as his client had acted without any intent to break the law.

An appeal will be filed within 10 days, he said.

Miles, pastor of Christ Community Church in Conway, S.C., seemed relaxed throughout the judge's summation.

His interpreter struggled to keep up with the judge's delivery and stopped at various points throughout the sentencing. At one point, Miles tapped the interpreter's elbow to remind her to resume.

Miles has said he did not check whether Russian laws differed from U.S. laws.

But Drozdova said the court could not condone ignorance of Russian customs regulations and noted Miles had visited the country more than 10 times.

She also stressed repeatedly that information on baggage limitations was available in the airport in both English and Russian.

Ryakhovsky said, however, that leaflets in the airport contained no specific references to a prohibition on taking cartridges onto flights.

"The judge's finding on that front was dishonest," he said.

Miles will remain in a Moscow jail until the appeal.