Russia is also using the judiciary as a weapon in its war of aggression against Ukraine. Now an American who wanted to defend his adopted homeland is being tried.
Russian prosecutors have demanded seven years in prison for a 72-year-old American because of his involvement in Ukraine’s defense against Moscow’s war of aggression. He should serve his sentence in a colony for serious criminals, the Russian news agency Interfax reported, citing the prosecutor’s plea. When determining the sentence, the public prosecutor considered age and a confession as mitigating circumstances. The process itself takes place behind closed doors.
According to reports, the American, originally from Michigan, had been living in Ukraine since 2014. After the Russian attack on the country, he joined a territorial defense battalion in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum. The city in the Kharkiv region was captured by Russian troops shortly after the start of the war. As a result of the fighting, the American was taken prisoner of war in April 2022. Because according to the contract with the territorial defense he was supposed to receive a salary of around $1,000, he is now being tried as a mercenary in Moscow.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
