Pastor Philip Miles of Conway, South Carolina, filed an appeal Monday of his prison sentence in Russia.
Pastor Miles was jailed in February, charged with smuggling ammunition into the country. Miles says it was a gift for a friend and fellow pastor in Russia. Last month, a judge sentenced Miles to three years and two months in prison. Russian news agency RIA Novosti reports that defense attorneys asked the court to find Miles not guilty, and to sentence him only on charges of illegally possessing ammunition. Attorney Vladimir Ryakhovsky told RIA Novosti if the court rules in favor of the appeal, Pastor Miles could be released from prison. The attorney also told the news agency that Miles filed a complaint with the court, calling the guilty verdict and prison sentence "severe and inadequate."
According to RIA Novosti, at the time of the sentencing, Pastor Miles called the ruling strange for having a box of bullets for hunting. The judge replied that she didn't quite believe that he did not know it was illegal to bring ammunition into the country.
The hearing date has to be set within 30 days of the appeal being filed.
Pastor Miles is the son of Bishop Houston Miles, founder of Evangel Cathedral in Spartanburg.
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