Latest news with #StephenHubbard
New York Times
2 days ago
- New York Times
U.S. Teacher Seized by Russia Is Located in Prison
After months without contact, Stephen James Hubbard, a retired American teacher taken from his eastern Ukrainian home by Russian soldiers shortly after Russia invaded in February 2022, has been located in a Russian prison in Mordovia. His family had no information on his whereabouts since his criminal conviction last fall. But in recent weeks, he has been able to call one of his sons. Mr. Hubbard is the only American remaining in Russia who has been designated by the U.S. State Department as 'wrongfully detained,' an indication that the United States believes the charges against him are fabricated. Given the designation, he is likely a top candidate in any potential prisoner exchange being discussed between Russia and the United States. Mr. Hubbard, now 73, was accused of manning a checkpoint and fighting for Ukraine, and then convicted by Russia of being a mercenary last October and sentenced to almost seven years in a penal colony. After that, Mr. Hubbard's family was not able to find him in Russia's prison system. In a highly unusual move, the Russian judge removed his case file, even basic information like his lawyer's name, from public view. Documents reviewed by The New York Times show that Mr. Hubbard is being held in the IK-12 penal colony in Mordovia, the southwestern Russian region commonly referred to as 'prison land.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The US citizens still held in Russian prisons
US-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina was on a plane back to the United States on Thursday after being released in a prisoner exchange between Moscow and Washington, her lawyer and America's top diplomat said. She spent more than a year in Russian prison after being charged with "treason" for donating to a pro-Ukrainian charity. The prisoner swap was the second between Moscow and Washington since US President Donald Trump took office. Here are some of the most high-profile instances of US citizens still in Russian prisons: - Stephen Hubbard - Stephen Hubbard, in his early 70s, is serving almost seven years in prison after a Russian court convicted him of fighting as a mercenary with Ukraine's army. Originally from Michigan, Hubbard was a retired English teacher living in the Ukrainian town of Izyum, in northeastern Ukraine, when Russia launched its February 2022 offensive. He was captured shortly after and held incommunicado for two and a half years before being put on trial in Moscow in October, accused of being paid to fight with a Ukrainian territorial defence battalion. A Ukrainian soldier detained with Hubbard told AFP last year that the American was beaten with sticks and truncheons, forced to simulate sexual acts with other prisoners and starved while in captivity. - Gordon Black - American soldier Gordon Black was jailed in June 2024 for three years and nine months by a court in the far eastern city of V ladivostok, convicted of having threatened to kill his girlfriend and for stealing from her. A Russian court reduced his sentence to three years and two months on Monday. The then 34-year-old, who completed tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, was visiting a Russian woman he had met and dated while serving in South Korea. US media have said the arrest could have been a "honey trap" operation targeting an American citizen. - Robert Gilman - Former US marine Robert Gilman from Massachusetts is serving seven years after being convicted of having attacked Russian police officers and prison guards. Originally convicted in 2022 of attacking a police officer while drunk, he was handed the longer term last year after prison authorities said he punched staff and attacked a criminal investigator. His backers say the charges are unsubstantiated and that he has been subjected to "forced drugging" and "torture" in prison. - Michael Travis Leake - A former US paratrooper, Michael Travis Leake, was detained in June 2023 and sentenced to 13 years in prison for selling illegal narcotics. CNN reported that Leake, who fronted a Moscow-based rock band called Lovi Noch, had lived in Russia for many years. - Joseph Tater - Joseph Tater faces five years in prison on accusations of assaulting a police officer after a confrontation with staff at a Moscow hotel. In a court hearing last year he rejected his US citizenship and claimed he had been targeted by the CIA for years. Russian state media reported last week that he had been forcibly hospitalised, after a board of Russian doctors accused him of impulsiveness and having "delusional ideas". - Gene Spector - Russian-born Gene Spector was sentenced to 15 years on espionage charges in December. No details of the accusation against him have been released. Spector, born in Leningrad -- now Saint Petersburg -- in 1972 was already serving a jail sentence on bribery charges when convicted of espionage. bur/jm
BBC News
18-02-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
US confirms release of US national held by Russia
Russian authorities have released an American national who was arrested at a Moscow airport earlier this month for cannabis possession, the US state department has Byers, 28, was stopped at Vnukovo International Airport earlier this month after cannabis-laced sweets were discovered in his luggage, Russian state media reported.A spokesperson for the state department told the BBC his release was a "welcome gesture" by department also reiterated its "strong warnings about the risk of detention for U.S. citizens in Russia". "U.S. citizens residing or travelling in Russia should depart immediately, as stated in our Level 4 Do Not Travel Advisory for Russia," the statement said.A report by Russia's Tass news agency last week said a US national arrived in Moscow from Istanbul on 7 man, now identified as Mr Byers, told airport officials the cannabis sweets found in his luggage had been prescribed by an American was facing 5-10 years in prison on drug smuggling charges as well as a fine of one million roubles ($10,880; £8,600), state media Byers was freed only hours before talks between US and Russian officials over the war in Ukraine were set to begin in Saudi state department has expressed hope that Moscow would also consider the release of detained US nationals, Stephen Hubbard and Ksena Khavana. Both have been detained on charges related to the war in recent years, Russia has detained a number of US citizens on various charges with some Western officials suggesting the Kremlin is "hoarding" Americans to trade for allies and operatives imprisoned week, American national Marc Fogel, who was arrested in 2021 and was serving a 14-year prison sentence, was freed in a prisoner exchange with jailed Russian national Alexander US nationals freed in recent years include basketball star Brittney Griner, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and US marine Paul least 10 Americans remain in prison in Russia. As well as Mr Hubbard and Ms Khavana, they include Gordon Black - a US army staff sergeant who flew to Vladivostok to see his girlfriend and was then accused of stealing from her - and Robert Woodland, who was adopted from Russia as a child and was working as an English teacher when he was convicted of drugs offences.
Iraqi News
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Iraqi News
The US citizens held in Russian prisons
Moscow – American Marc Fogel is back on US soil Wednesday after being released from a Russian prison, in what US President Donald Trump said he hoped was the start of warming ties between Washington and Moscow. Several US citizens remain in Russian prisons. Here are some of the most high-profile cases. – Stephen Hubbard – Stephen Hubbard, 72, is serving almost seven years in prison after a Russian court convicted him of fighting as a mercenary with Ukraine's army. Originally from Michigan, Hubbard was a retired English teacher living in the Ukrainian town of Izyum, in northeastern Ukraine, when Russia launched its February 2022 offensive. He was captured shortly after and held incommunicado for two and a half years before being put on trial in Moscow in October, accused of being paid to fight with a Ukrainian territorial defence battalion. A Ukrainian soldier detained with Hubbard told AFP last year that the American was beaten with sticks and truncheons, forced to simulate sexual acts with other prisoners and starved while in captivity. – Ksenia Karelina – Dual US-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina, who lived in Los Angeles, is serving a 12-year prison sentence for having donated around $50 to a pro-Ukraine charity. Karelina, a ballerina and spa worker born in 1991, was arrested in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg last January while on a trip to visit her family. She was charged with 'treason'. The FSB accused her of collecting funds for Ukraine's army that was used to purchase 'equipment, weapons and ammunition' — charges she rejected. Her supporters say she donated to a US-based organisation that delivers humanitarian aid to Ukraine. – Gordon Black – American soldier Gordon Black was jailed in June for three years and nine months by a court in the far eastern city of Vladivostok, convicted of having threatened to kill his girlfriend and for stealing from her. The then 34-year-old, who completed tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, was visiting a Russian woman he had met and dated while serving in South Korea. US media have said the arrest could have been a 'honey trap' operation targeting an American citizen. – Robert Gilman – Former US marine Robert Gilman from Massachusetts is serving seven years after being convicted of having attacked Russian police officers and prison guards. Originally convicted in 2022 of attacking a police officer while drunk, he was handed the longer term last year after prison authorities said he punched staff and attacked a criminal investigator. His backers say the charges are unsubstantiated and that he has been subjected to 'forced drugging' and 'torture' in prison. – Michael Travis Leake – A former US paratrooper, Michael Travis Leake, was detained in June 2023 and sentenced to 13 years in prison for selling illegal narcotics. CNN reported that Leake, who fronted a Moscow-based rock band called Lovi Noch, had lived in Russia for many years. – Joseph Tater – Joseph Tater faces five years in prison after being convicted of assaulting a police officer after abusing staff at a hotel in Moscow. In a court hearing last year he rejected his US citizenship and claimed he had been targeted by the CIA for years. – Gene Spector – Russian-born Gene Spector was sentenced to 15 years on espionage charges in December. No details of the accusation against him have been released. Spector, born in Leningrad — now Saint Petersburg — in 1972 was already serving a jail sentence on bribery charges when convicted of espionage.
