INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A Russian court on Monday sentenced a 72-year-old American in a closed trial to nearly seven years in prison for allegedly fighting as a
mercenary in Ukraine.Prosecutors said Stephen Hubbard signed a contract with the Ukrainian military after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in
February 2022 and he fought alongside them until being captured two months later.He was sentenced to six years and 10 months in a
Prosecutors had called for a sentence of seven years in a maximum-security prison.Hubbard, from the state of Michigan, is the first American
known to have been convicted on charges of fighting as a mercenary in the Ukrainian conflict.The charges carried a potential sentence of 15
years, but prosecutors asked that his age be taken into account along with his admission of guilt, Russian news reports said.Arrests of
Americans have become increasingly common in Russia in recent years
Concern has risen that Russia could be targeting United States nationals for arrest to use later as bargaining chips in talks to bring back
Russians convicted of crimes in the United States and Europe.Also on Monday, a court in the city of Voronezh sentenced American Robert
Gilman to seven years and 1 month for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers while serving a sentence for another assault.According
to Russian news reports, Gilman was arrested in 2022 for causing a disturbance while intoxicated on a passenger train and then assaulted a
police officer while in custody
He is serving a 3 1/2-year sentence on that charge.Last year, he assaulted a prison inspector during a cell check, then hit an official of
the Investigative Committe, resulting in the new sentence, state news agency RIA-Novosti said.The United States and Russia in August
completed their largest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history, a deal involving 24 people, many months of negotiations and concessions from
other European countries, which released Russians in their custody as part of the exchange
Several United States citizens remain behind bars in Russia following the swap.Source: AP--Agencies
