A Colombian was convicted of “mercenary” in favor of Ukraine. Decision taken by a Russian court
The Colombian, awaiting the verdict of the court in Donetsk Photo: Handout / AFP / Profimedia
A Russian court in occupied Ukraine sentenced a Colombian citizen accused of “mercenary” to 19 years in prison on Wednesday, after he fought in the Ukrainian army against Moscow, AFP reports, taken over by Agerpres.
The Supreme Court in Donetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine under Russian control, found Oscar Mauricio Blanco Lopez guilty of participating “as a mercenary in an armed conflict”, the Russian General Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.
According to this source, this 42-year-old man signed a contract with the Ukrainian army in May 2024 to participate in “fights against the Russian armed forces.” He was taken prisoner by Russian soldiers in the Donetsk region in December 2024, according to the Prosecutor's Office.
Russia considers foreigners fighting in the Ukrainian army as “mercenaries”, a fact punishable by Russian law, and not volunteers.
Since the beginning of the Russian offensive in Ukraine in 2022, several foreigners have been tried by courts located in Ukrainian territories conquered by Russia.
On December 18, a British citizen accused of “mercenary” was sentenced to 13 years in prison by the Donetsk Supreme Court. In early December, a Czech national was sentenced to 13 years in prison by the Supreme Court in the neighboring Moscow-controlled Lugansk region.
In early November, two Colombians described as “mercenaries” were already sentenced to 13 years in prison in the Donetsk region, and in October 2024 a Moscow court handed down a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence to a septuagenarian American citizen, Stephen Hubbard, on the same charges.
