MOSCOW, April 21, 2008
Moscow Jails U.S. Pastor For Hunting Ammo
S.C. Man Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison For Taking Box Of Hunting Bullets Into Russia
-
Photo
Phillip Miles is seen behind bars in a Moscow court on Monday, April 21, 2008. Phillip Miles, from South Carolina, has been in custody since his arrest on Feb. 3. He was arrested several days after customs agents at a Moscow airport found a box of rifle shells in his luggage. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)
-
Fast Facts
Russia
Learn about the people, economy and history.
Phillip Miles, from Conway, S.C., has been in custody since his arrest on Feb. 3. He was arrested several days after customs agents at a Moscow airport found a box of 20 rifle shells in his luggage.
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 cartridges were not initially found as he flew into Moscow. They were detected a day 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 was dressed in 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.
Quote
He said the conviction for smuggling was unfounded as his client had acted without any intent to break the law.I'm very disappointed. It's a strange sentence for one box of hunting bullets.
Phillip MilesAn appeal will be filed within 10 days, he said.
Miles 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 admitted bringing in the shells, but said he did not bother to check if 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.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
- 1
- 2
- next
See all 81 CommentsBut the record of strict gun regulations in other countries is quite dismal. In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents were rounded up and exterminated. In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians were exterminated.
Germany established gun control in 1938. and from 1939 to 1945 13 million Jews and others were exterminated.
China established gun control in 1935; from 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents were exterminated.
Guatemala established gun control in 1964, and from 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians were exterminated.
Uganda established gun control in 1970 %u2014 from 1971 to 1979, 300,000 people were exterminated.
Cambodia established gun control in 1956, and from 1975 to 1977 one million educated people were exterminated.
In a more recent example, the British Broadcasting Company reported on May 10, 2000, that the United Nations convinced the people of Sierra Leone to turn in their private weapons for UN protection during the recent civil war. The result was disastrous. The people ended up defenseless when UN troops, unable to protect even themselves, were taken hostage by rebels moving on the capital of Freetown.
Estimates run as high as 56 million people who have been exterminated in the 20th century because gun control left them defenseless.
I other words gun control is really great Right?
My post was in response to leftwingers post. I don''t feel sorry for Mr. Mills every countries laws should be respected (we have 12 million examples here now), but looking at the sentence it''s pretty clear he was made an example of. Since it''s NOT illegal for Russians to own hunting rifles shotguns etc... and he was just bringing in a single box of ammo. To a country the exports more guns then anyone.
Charles Taylor was the President of Liberia. The ruler of the government will ALWAYS have guns. That''s how they stay in power. It''s the governed who need help. Like in Zimbabwe where they are fleeing in droves because they have no guns.
- Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
"One man with a gun can control 100 without one. Make mass searches and hold executions for found arms."
- Lenin
"Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas."
- Joseph Stalin
"All political power comes from the barrel of a gun. The communist party must command all the guns, that way, no guns can ever be used to command the party."
- Mao Zedong
"On the morrow of each conflict I gave the categorical order to confiscate the largest possible number of weapons of every sort and kind. This confiscation, which continues with the utmost energy, has given satisfactory results."
- Benito Mussolini
"The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered races to have arms; history teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing."
-- Adolf Hitler
A-HUMAN-RIGHT.com
Posted by jumkey at 10:18 AM : Apr 21, 2008"
"Ryakhovsky (Miles'' Defense Lawyer) said, however, that leaflets in the airport contained no specific references to a prohibition on taking cartridges onto flights."
Perhaps knowing that there actually is a law against bringing in ammunition would justify making that comment. The literature available makes no such declaration so how would he know that he is not respecting the law.
Posted by jumkey at 10:18 AM : Apr 21, 2008"
The fact that the number of gun owners outnumbers the number of ANY and ALL groups in this country and the relatively minuscule ocurance of any kind of aberration the likes of which you describe demonstrate conclusively that legal gun owners are the LEAST likely to commit any kind of crime. Your argument is logically flawed, you simply don''t know what you''re talking about.
Posted by zoe2006 at 09:26 AM : Apr 21, 2008"
The literature provided for travelers did not state that ammunition was illegal. *** far as he knew he was acting legally. Your assumption that he was intent upon breaking Russian law is not founded in the article.
Posted by zoe2006 at 09:26 AM : Apr 21, 2008"
Your comparison is foolish. First off, it was 20 bullets so it was in no way an attempt to smuggle ammunition. Second he was not aware that he was breaking any law because the available information did not specifically state that ammunition could not be brought into Russia.
I mean, c''mon - would you try to ferret a box of ammo past U.S. customs?
lollll...not me...I don''t like people lookin'' up my hiney to see if I accidentally forgot and left my rifle up there...
Posted by zoe2006 at 09:26 AM : Apr 21, 2008"
Please tell me "What is illegal to bring into the United States?" if you miss one, go directly to jail, do not collect $200, do not pass Go. While you are at it, (without using Google) what else is illegal to bring into Russia?
But I dont think people realize the gravity of the case before the surpreme court regarding Washington DC''s insane gun ban. But the good news is we have CONSERVATIVE court (haha liberal a$$holes). If they strike down the law, there goes san fran''s ban and Chicago''s also.
We WILL get our rights back. The majority of this nation is conservative. Dont like it? Head to Europe where they have already ceaded their rights to the goverment.
Posted by ToolMangler
_______________
But the REALITY is you can use Google and many other places of refence to find out the law in Russia or any other country you go to. You can always contact the Russian Consolate office and ask them if you are not sure. My guess is this guy thought that because he is a "God-fearing" American, then he can just do what he wants. He was arrogant and thought himself above the law. Period. I have traveled to many foreign countries, and I always make sure I am not carrying anything illegal into another country (i.e. medicine, fruits, etc.)
Something like ammunition would be a no-brainer...of course I would make sure it was okay to bring that in. As a matter of fact, I wouldn''t have ever risked it to begin with, even if I thought it might be fine.
Mr. Miles can spend the next three years coming to the realization that even gun-totten'', Southern "men-of-God" must respect the laws of foreign nations.
It was on his checked baggage. For a shock check out our governments GSA Auction site where they sell confiscated materials from passengers on airplanes. From Chainsaws, hammers, saws and millions of pocket knives to guns.
What total hypocrisy!!
I guess we can expect nothing less from a totalitarian dictatorship.
I understand the idea of knowing the laws of the land to which you travel, but there seems to be more going on here. From my understanding, the US airline that he flew out of the country with allowed him to keep the ammunition even after he declared it. I personally would have thought that the airline would have made some sort of declaration to the Russian authorities since they approved the initial shipping of the ammunition in his luggage. Regardless, 3 years for 20 bullets seems excessive for someone has been into the country so many times on missionary work. To anyone that actually knows him, it''s more than excessive, it''s unbelievable, even ludicrous.
For those claiming it was plain arrogance, I don''t think that was the case at all. I''ve never known Mr. Miles to be anything less than an honest gentleman, a rare individual that loved his family, cared for his neighbors, and did his best to help his community. I believe this was a dreadful mistake, an unfortunate accident, with no ill intention involved. I think he''s suffering more the effects of statement being made than the supposed crime committed.
What total hypocrisy!!
I guess we can expect nothing less from a totalitarian dictatorship.
-Posted by gunownerdan
_______________________________________________
This is a typical American response..."it''s not fair"..."but they''re doing this, and they''re doing that"...."but in America we"...."they aint''t free like we are"..."their laws are silly"...."they''re picking on us because we''re Americans"...blah, blah, blah....whine, whine, whine.
The bottom line is you can''t just arbitrarily bring bullets on planes into or around the U.S.A. or in almost any other nation that has basic laws for air travel. If you can''t handle going to nations that you are expected to follow their laws (even the ones you think are ''silly''), then do yourself a favor (and the rest of the world) and stay home.
Reading these posts, you can see some of us get it and some will never understand a world outside of their own.
By the way, those America has a lot higher proportion of its population in prison than they have.
Posted by misands at 12:04 PM : Apr 21, 2008
____
I was trying to say that those who complain about Russia not ''being free'', should remember that America has a higher precentage of it''s own people locked away in prison than Russia does.
This man did nothing criminal whatsoever. All of you blaming this guy are cheering the perverse detention of a law-abiding man, and are doing so because of your ideology. If you want to deride the right wing for their dedication to ideology, then don''''t be guilty of your own smug hypocritical stances.
This is a travesty of justice, and for any fellow american to cheer the arbitrary jailing of a fellow, law-abiding countryman is disgraceful" Posted by diatreme at 12:50 PM : Apr 21, 2008
but he is not law abiding, he broke the law.
Their history of strong arming and thier treatment of fellow humans continue.
It''s almost like they get some sort of pleasure making other''s suffer!
Why would a man of God, someone who is supposed to respect life in any way shape or form, bring rifle ammunition into Russia in the first place? He says he did it because a friend asked him to, but what did this friend intend to do with it; target prectice?
SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!
sig heil, (more of the same) John "McBush" NcCain!!!
The russians are predominantly eastern orthodox,church is regaining power there and doesn''t tolerate this practice.
Posted by USBrit at 01:08 PM : Apr 21, 2008"
35% of US households own a total of 192 million (2004 gun survey). To imply that the handful of aerations are somehow a significant portion of these gun owners, as was implied, is patently stupid.
Your opinion of US law and our rights to own a bear arms is as irrelevant. the claim that was made is that gun owners are for all intents and purposes criminals which is false.
Your assumption that bringing ammunition into foreign countries is universally illegal is absurd. For starters your claim that Canada would arrest someone for transporting ammunition is simply false, read the Canadian gun laws.
http://www.panda.com/canadaguns/#official
I''m quite sure that Miles had no intention of trafficking in ammunition since he was only bringing in a single package of 20 shells. There was no information in the literature provided at the airport that stated or implied that ammunition could NOT be brought into Russia. this is not a case of international arms trafficking, it''s a case of an overzealous judge trying to score some points.
Posted by Oscarez at 01:57 PM : Apr 21, 2008"
Every gun owner who has purchased a weapon through a dealer and has the proper permits for his/her state. As Opposed to illegal gun owners who purchase stolen guns through the black market.
This is not a 2nd amendment or gun control argument, this is simply a case of poorly documented Russian laws being capriciously enforced. This is unfortunate but not unexpected from a country like Russia.
Posted by mediapreachr at 02:02 PM : Apr 21, 2008"
And it says that where in the article?
Praise Jaysus!!! Can I git an RRMEN!!
1) I was referring to your "number of gun owners outnumbers the number of ANY and ALL groups in this country," statement as being BS not the number of abberations (or aerations as you call them). You admit the number is 35% - this is not a majority.
2) I never said all gun owners are criminals.
3) I might not have said this plainly enough for you. Any country would do the same thing to someone trying to enter with undeclared ammunition as this guy did.
Remember the dumb student who tried to get into the US with a stick of dynamite and some blasting caps after he''d had a geology course in Argentina a few months ago? They sure arrested his a$$ PDQ.
I do hope that Putin, as prime minister will intervene.
This not good for internal relations.
Posted by taddles at 02:10 PM : Apr 21, 2008
____________
You''ve never been out of the country have you? If so, you would know that they don''t just give you some neat little brochure that outlines everything you can and can''t bring into the country you are visiting. Usually all you get is a customs form and an immigration form on the airplane. They may have some general do''s and don''ts on the forms, but it is really up to the traveler to make sure they know what they can legally transport. I''ve never heard of just taking something like that with you and "hope" it''s not on some sort of ''items not to bring'' pamplet. This guy has traveled enough that he should have known that. You check these things out before you even go to the airport. It''s called common sense!
By the way, while it may only seem like 20 bullets to you, remember they may see it as a threat to 20 people (police) who could be killed by the rounds of ammo. Let''s not forget Russia also faces terrorist threats and should be expected to enforce their laws like we enforce ours.
***********************
Name another group that has 35+ million members.
2) I never said all gun owners are criminals.
***************************
the person to whom I was responding implied that gun owners are criminals.
3) I might not have said this plainly enough for you. Any country would do the same thing to someone trying to enter with undeclared ammunition as this guy did.
***********************
Perhaps but it is not illegal to move ammunition around the US in your luggage nor is it illegal to move it to many countries if you have prior documentation. The statement that no other countries allow you to import ammunition is simply false.
Remember the dumb student who tried to get into the US with a stick of dynamite and some blasting caps after he''''d had a geology course in Argentina a few months ago? They sure arrested his a$$ PDQ.
Posted by USBrit at 02:25 PM : Apr 21, 2008
**********************
And he was released after they understood the situation, not arrested and given a 3 year sentence.
Posted by misands at 02:35 PM : Apr 21, 2008"
No argument there, he should have assumed that since it was Russia that the laws regarding weapons would be not be readily available. However, as you are quick to point out, common sense would dictate that they would have taken the ammunition away and fined him not trumped up false charges of trafficking and put him away for three years.
Posted by misands at 02:35 PM : Apr 21, 2008"
We may be turning down the road of fascism but I''m sure we are not there yet. It''s not likely that we would put a guy behind bars for 3 years for not declaring he a box of hunting ammo in his checked baggage.
Posted by jumkey at 02:43 PM : Apr 21, 2008"
Disregard of what law? where have I advocated any unlawful behavior?
I''m not a gun nut, I''m a supporter of the 2nd amendment of the constitution. And whether you like it or not the Supreme court ruling on the amendment is that I have the right to own and bear arms. The fact that you have a problem with guns is utterly irrelevant to this discussion. The concept here is that a traveler was arrested and given a harsh sentence for a seemingly innocuous crime. It seems harsh considering we would not do the same thing to foreigners traveling to the US.
Your diatribe against guns is childish and irrelevant to the topic at hand.
%u201CWhy is it that the only references to lack of guns on the part of German Jews being the cause for the Holocaust comes from American gun-nuts. No reputable history even suggests this. What the he11 could one guy with a gun do against a squad of SS stormtroopers. %u201C
Ballards, it''s the Britts who failed at tyranny when they failed to control or weapons. A very simple case of fact. I suspect the storm troopers would have had a tough time rounding up about a third of their population for extermination or slave labor camps if the population had been armed.
Posted by jumkey at 02:43 PM : Apr 21, 2008"
I haven''t dictated anything, Russia will have whatever laws they want. What I have said is that not posting any information regarding importation of ammunition into Russia and then handing down a 3 year sentence for "smuggling" is absurd in any country that claims to be out of the stone age.
- 1
- 2
- next
See all 81 Comments