DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: As American has been released from a Russian prison a half year after he became the focus of international attention. CNN's Steve Harrigan looks at the case.</s>STEVE HARRIGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Six months after being charged with possession of marijuana and accused of being a spy in training, American student John Tobin walked out of a southern Russian jail a free man. The accusation of spying made by local intelligence officers was later withdrawn, but not before drawing international attention to the case coming in the wake of spy scandals and diplomatic expulsions by Russia and the U.S. The 24-year-old was on a Fulbright scholarship studying Russian politics in the city of Rossosh, an overnight train ride south of Moscow part of Russia's so-called rustbelt, a region of decaying factories that attracts few Westerners. Tobin, who denies all the charges, was arrested outside of a local nightclub last February and received a three-year sentence, which was then cut to one year, and he was paroled after serving six months. The next stop for Tobin is the U.S. embassy in Moscow before heading home to Connecticut. Steve Harrigan, CNN, Rossosh, southern Russia.
Tobin Released From Russian Prison