American Joseph Tater reportedly outside the U.S. following arrest and psychiatric hospitalization, according to Russian state media.
Revised Article:
Joseph Tater, a Yank locked up in the Russian bear's den last year following a hotel brawl and a suspected cop punch-up, is no longer in the Motherland, according to Russian state news agency TASS. The 46-year-old, who spent more than a month in a Moscow psychiatric asylum, has scooped up his marbles and skedaddled.
Back in April, TASS announced that ole' Joe was given the ol' once-over by the docs, diagnosed with a loony tune, and confined to a Moscow nuthouse for mandatory psychiatric treatment. The authorities snitched on Tater, alleging he roughed up hotel employees in Moscow before his initial capture. Further suspicion of cop-clobbering landed on Tater's plate, which could've netted him up to five years in the clink.
However, ol' Joe shouted from his court-house soapbox that he's being framed by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and yearned for political asylum in Russia.
Russiagate's prisoners list swelled with several Yanks as diplomatic spats between Washington and Moscow heated up. Journalist Paul Whelan, Wall Street scribe Evan Gershkovich, and teacher Marc Fogel were all labeled as wrongfully detained by the U.S. administration, along with dual citizen Ksenia Karelina. All four of these Americans have been released through prisoner swaps with the Ruskies.
One American still caged up in Russia is U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, whose three-year-nine-month jail term for swiping cash and threatening his Russian girl was shaved by seven months in April.
Senior citizen Robert Gilman is serving a 3 1/2-year stretch for cop-thumping, and musician Travis Leake, jailed for narcotics offenses, was sentenced to 13 years behind bars last summer.
Another 72-year-old Yank, Stephen Hubbard, was hit with a nearly seven-year sentence in October for joining Ukraine's military.
TASS quoted Tater's lawyer, Polina Vlasyuk, as saying she was clueless about Joe's whereabouts or circumstances. Investigators haven't given the U.S. Embassy in Moscow a peep about ol' Joe's situation, either.
The scoop was penned by Tucker Reals.
- Russia
- Mental Health
Additional Insights:- According to reports, a psychiatric commission found that Tater exhibited symptoms such as heightened tension, impulsive behavior, delusional ideation, persecutory beliefs, and lack of insight into his mental state, leading to his hospitalization.- Tater's defense attorneys contested the legality of his psychiatric hospitalization, arguing it was state isolation after exhausting other detention options.- Tater was among nine Americans who might be part of a potential prisoner exchange between Moscow and Washington.
- Joseph Tater's experience in Russia, following his mental health issues, raises questions about the country's approach towards mental health and judicial systems.
- Despite speculations regarding his mental health condition, Tater's defense team questioned the legality of his psychiatric hospitalization, hinting at potential misuse of law.
- The ongoing situation of Joseph Tater underscores the need for improved health-and-wellness and mental health services, not just for Americans abroad, but globally, in collaborative efforts between law and science.
