A Moscow court sentenced American citizen Stephen Hubbard, 72, to six years and 10 months in prison on Monday (7) for allegedly fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine, according to Russian state media Tass.
Hubbard, a Michigan native, was accused of fighting Russia for monetary compensation and pleaded guilty last month to charges of being a mercenary, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti.
Russian prosecutors alleged that Hubbard fought with Ukraine in the important city of Izyum after signing a contract worth about $1,000 a month, RIA previously reported. He was detained by Russian forces in April 2022.
“Yes, I agree with the charges,” Hubbard told the Moscow City Court at his plea hearing in September.
His trial and sentencing took place behind closed doors in the Moscow courtroom.
Hubbard’s sister, Trisha Hubbard Fox, previously said he held pro-Russian views and cast doubt on his confession, telling Reuters in an interview that “he never had a gun, nor did anything like that… He’s more of a pacifist.” .
“The RUSSIAN prosecutor is LYING!!! Steve was never a mercenary. He was an English teacher teaching English in foreign countries!” her sister added in a Facebook post last month.
On Monday morning, a Russian court sentenced another American citizen, former Marine Robert Gilman, to seven years and one month in a maximum security penal colony for assaulting law enforcement officers, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti.
Gilman is already serving time in a Russian prison after being sentenced in October 2022 to more than four years for attacking a police officer, according to Reuters. His sentence was later reduced to 3.5 years.
Gilman’s latest sentence, in the Russian city of Voronezh, is related to the alleged assault on a prison officer and a state investigator.
A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Moscow said to CNN that the Embassy is aware of the detention of two American citizens but declined to comment further, citing privacy concerns.
See what we know about Ukraine’s incursion into Russian territory
This content was originally published in Russian court condemns US citizen for fighting for Ukraine on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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