According to the court press service, James Scott Rhys Anderson was found guilty of both “mercenary activities” and a “terrorist act.”
A Russian court has sentenced a British citizen who was taken prisoner by Russia while defending Ukraine to 19 years in prison.
Following a three-day closed military trial in Kursk, 22-year-old James Scott Rhys Anderson was found guilty of “mercenary activities” and a “terrorist act,” the region’s court news office announced on Wednesday.
According to the press agency, Anderson entered a guilty plea to the allegations against him after he was allegedly apprehended in Kursk in November while taking part in Ukraine’s cross-border incursion.
Anderson’s sentencing calls for him to serve five years in prison before being moved to a correctional colony to complete the rest of his time, the news agency said.
After the decision was translated for Anderson, he was seen nodding silently in court-released footage.
Anderson’s sentence on what it called bogus allegations was denounced by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
A spokeswoman stated, “POWs cannot be prosecuted for taking part in hostilities under international law.”
“We demand that Russia cease using prisoners of war for political and propaganda purposes and adhere to these obligations, including those under the Geneva Conventions.”
Two British nationals and a Moroccan were given death sentences by a court in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region in 2022 for serving as foreign mercenaries and engaging in “terrorist” operations.
Later, as part of a prisoner exchange mediated by Saudi Arabia, the three men were freed.
In February 2022, shortly after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, then-Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that over 20,000 volunteers from 52 nations had pledged to defend Kyiv.
