On June 7, 2025, according to a report from Tass, a Russian news agency, Joseph Tater, an American citizen who was detained and forced to undergo psychiatric treatment in Moscow in August last year, has left Russia.
Tater was identified last month by Kremlin sources as one of the nine Americans Washington hoped to have released in a prisoner exchange. In August last year, he was sentenced to 15 days in prison on charges of assaulting hotel staff in Moscow, a charge he denied. Russian state media later reported that Tater was also under investigation for allegedly attacking a police officer, an offense that could carry a maximum sentence of 5 years.
According to official Russian media reports, on April 6 this year, a court ruled that Tater did not need to remain in custody, citing a medical diagnosis of a mental illness that rendered his actions non-criminal.
Tass reported on Friday that Tater has been discharged from the psychiatric hospital and has left Russia, although his exact whereabouts are unknown.
(Credit: This article is based on reports from Reuters.)