A court in Vladivostok's Pervomaysky district has ordered the detention of US serviceman Gordon Black until July 2 on charges of "robbery," RIA Novosti news agency quoted court spokeswoman Yelena Oleneva as saying. Under the Russian Criminal Code, the American could face up to five years in prison if convicted. Russian news channel Baza and the Izvestia newspaper reported that the US serviceman had been visiting his girlfriend, a Russian citizen from Vladivostok. Black is accused by the court of "beating" his girlfriend and then stealing "200,000 rubles (2,000 euros) and alcohol" from her. "This case is not linked to politics or espionage," the Russian foreign ministry's office in Vladivostok said Tuesday. On Monday, US Army spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said the soldier, who is based in South Korea, had been detained "on suspicion of committing a crime," but could not "provide any further details" at that time. The US administration said it was "monitoring" the serviceman's situation. In recent years, several US citizens have been detained and sentenced to lengthy prison terms in Russia. Washington, which is militarily and financially supporting Ukraine against the Russian army, accuses Moscow of wanting to exchange US prisoners for Russians detained in the United States. Wall Street Journal reporter and former Agence France-Presse Moscow correspondent Evan Gershkovich was detained by the Russian security services (FSB) while on assignment in the Urals in March 2023. The American journalist is accused of espionage and could face 20 years in prison. No foreign journalist has received such a severe sentence since the end of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. The journalist denies the accusations, as do US authorities and his newspaper. Russia has never substantiated the charges or publicly presented evidence in the case. The entire procedure has been classified as secret. Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), has been in detention since October 2023 for failing to formally register with the authorities, as required by Russian law. Read Also: Cuban President on "working visit" to Russia (Portuguese version)