A 72-year-old British man who reportedly fought as a soldier in Ukraine was sentenced by a Russian judge to about seven years in prison on Monday during a closed trial.
According to The Associated Press, Russian lawyers claimed that Stephen Hubbard, 72, fought as a soldier alongside the Russian army until he was captured two months later after signing a contract with the country’s military after Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022.
The 72-year-old was sentenced to a general-security prison for six times and 10 weeks. Hubbard is the first U.S. member to have been found guilty of a soldier in Ukraine, according to The Associated Press. The 72-year-old American’s charges could have led to a 15-year jail sentence, according to The Associated Press, but Russian prosecutors requested that the court take into account his age and his alleged grief admission in the decision on Monday.
During a U. S. State Department media briefing on Monday, Matthew Miller, a State Department official, told writers,” We have limited data available about this situation because Russia has refused to grant diplomatic entry”.
READ MORE: Biden Announces$ 8 Billion in New Military Assistance for Ukraine
Miller added,” The individual is 72 years old, ]and ] has been held in prison for two years. He was arrested in Ukraine, hardly in Russia. Russia may allow him to enter the United States judicial office, just like they should whenever they detain an American member. And we are considering our next steps quite carefully by looking at the event carefully.
Miller claimed that Russia’s refusal to give Hubbard diplomatic access “disappointed” the State Department. He continued,” We’re going to continue pressing for it and they have an obligation to provide it.” We’re taking the situation very seriously and weighing our future steps.
According to The Associated Press, Robert Gilman, a second American citizen, was sentenced to seven years and one quarter in jail after Hubbard’s word was announced on Monday.
According to Russian media reports obtained by The Associated Press, Gilman was recently detained for assaulting a law enforcement officer while he was in prison and for causing a disturbance while incapacitated in 2022. RIA-Novosti, a Russian state news organization, reported that Gilman after assaulted a prison investigator and hit an Investigative Committee standard.
According to The Associated Press, Americans have been subject to more arrests in Russia over the past few years, raising fears that Russia may be attempting to target Americans to get bargaining power.