2 days ago
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.'
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