Russia sentences 72-year-old US citizen to nearly seven years in prison for fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine

A Moscow court on Monday sentenced him to six years and 10 months in prison. stephen hubbardThe 72-year-old American citizen is accused of fighting as a mercenary against Russian forces in Ukraine. The retired English teacher from Big Rapids, Michigan, will remain in custody until the verdict takes effect. According to the request of the prosecutor’s office, he will be able to serve his sentence in a prison for general prisoners, and not in a maximum-security prison.

According to the Russian press, at the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Moscow Urban Court also took into consideration the defendant’s age and the fact that he admitted his guilt. Even more extreme than your sister, trisha hubbard fox

Has clearly rejected.

Under Article 359 of the Penal Code, Hubbard could have faced up to 15 years in prison. However, a Russian judge has ordered that the American be assigned to a regional defense unit in the Ukrainian city of Izyum, northeast of Kharkiv, during the first weeks of the invasion.

According to the indictment, they received a monthly salary of $1,000 for the service for which they were trained, armed and equipped until April 2022, when the Russians captured the city. However, his relatives say that Hubbard “was never a mercenary” and that he has been teaching English abroad. According to the agency’s report, the former teacher had been living in Ukraine since 2014 with Inna, “a woman he called his wife.” RIA Novosti

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At the end of the hearing, which took place partly behind closed doors and the accused appeared wearing hats to protect against the cold, the United States Embassy expressed confidence of soon regaining consular access to its citizens.

Moscow has in the past used American prisoners as a bargaining chip to guarantee the return of Russians held in American prisons, known as death dealers, viktor boutThe most recent exchange took place on August 1 and became the largest exchange involving spies between Russia and the West since 1985, with 24 people exchanged.

Another American citizen, former Marine robert gilmanHe was sentenced by a court in the city of Voronezh to seven years and one month in prison in a high-security penal colony for attacking a prison officer, a state investigator and another state official while serving a sentence for a previous attack.