An American citizen has been freed from Russian prison less than two weeks after being detained over having cannabis-laced marmalade in a Moscow airport.
The man's mother wrote in a Facebook post that Kalob Byers, 28, had been freed from prison and was waiting to take a flight home at the US Embassy.
Byers had flown from Istanbul to Moscow with his Russian fiancée when the two were reportedly detained on Feb. 7 at Vnukovo Airport after officials discovered cannabis-infused marmalade, which Byers said had been prescribed to treat his seizures, the Moscow Times reported.
Russian authorities accused Byers of attempting to smuggle a "significant amount" of drugs into the country, charged him and booked him into prison. The 28-year-old had could have faced a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, as reported by the Associated Press.
Byers' mother, Tony Shuler, had written in a previous Facebook post that her son suffered a "massive seizure" while in Russian custody. She said that he did not have access to his medication for eight days.
A US official confirmed Byers' release to AP. On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that officials expect "to discuss restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations" during upcoming talks in Saudi Arabia.
Byers' fiancée, who was identified by Russian news outlets as Naida Mambetova, was reportedly detained on the same charges. It remains unclear if she was also released.
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