US Navy veteran Taylor Dudley released after almost a year in Russian detention

US Navy veteran Taylor Dudley has been released after almost a year in Russian detention.

The 35-year-old was released on Thursday after negotiations led by former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson lasting months, CNN reported.

Mr Dudley, from Lansing Michigan, was taken into custody by Russian border patrol in April of last year after he crossed the border from Poland into Kaliningrad – a Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania.

The veteran was attending a music festival in Poland and it remains unclear why he moved across the Russian border.

The US government hasn’t categorized the detention of Mr Dudley as “wrongful” or claimed that it was arbitrary or based on discrimination. The detention hadn’t been publicized on a wide scale ahead of Thursday’s release – the family wanted the release talks to stay private, CNN notes.

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