Posted on 10/07/2024 7:59:00 AM PDT by hardspunned
MOSCOW, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A Russian court on Monday sentenced 72-year-old American citizen Stephen James Hubbard to six years and 10 months in prison after convicting him in a closed-door trial of serving as a mercenary for Ukraine, a Reuters reporter in the courtroom said. Investigators said Hubbard, a native of Michigan, was paid $1,000 per month to serve in a Ukrainian territorial defence unit in the eastern city of Izyum, where he had been living since 2014.
They said Hubbard was provided with training, weapons and ammunition when he allegedly signed up in February 2022, the same month Moscow sent thousands of troops into Ukraine. He was detained by Russian soldiers on April 2 of that year, the RIA state news agency quoted the prosecutor as saying last month.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Quotes:
Rule 108. Mercenaries, as defined in Additional Protocol I, do not have the right to combatant or prisoner-of-war status....
Additional Protocol I defines a mercenary as a person who:
a) is specially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict;
b) does, in fact, take a direct part in the hostilities;
c) is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party;
d) is neither a national of a Party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a Party to the conflict;
e) is not a member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict; and
f) has not been sent by a State which is not a Party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces.
This definition is very restrictive because it requires that all six conditions be cumulatively fulfilled. In addition, the definition requires evidence that a person accused of being a mercenary is “motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain” and is promised “material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces”.
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule108
It’s complicated, but he could have earned about three times more at a California McDonald’s:
F**k around abs find out.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
“We have lost so many vociferous Zeepers lately, I hope this isn’t one who was taunted into action by the Putin stooges.”
Not a chance. They’re all chickenhawks safely hiding out in countries that won’t participate if the US goes to war. They’ll gladly throw my kids in the fire, but they won’t go themselves.
ROTFL!
He’ll likely die in a Russian prison because he doesn’t have the leverage of being the right race or sex.
Kinda hard to call this one a misjustice. He was living in the Ukraine since 2014. He was accused, and convicted, by Russian prosecutors of accepting $1,000 a month to serve with a Ukrainian territorial defense force in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum starting in February 2022. He pleaded guilty to the charges. So if he had’t been there and stayed in the states, and not put himself into a situation like this, then it never would have happened. Did he expect to jump in the water and not get wet.
wy69
The Territorial Defense Forces are the military reserve component of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
If he was serving in the Ukrainian armed forces then he is not a mercenary.
REMFs. The further from the Front, the bigger the talk.
Yup, its why the "mercenary" charge by Russia is nonsense.
vs Russian soldiers who volunteered for combat in Ukraine due to bonuses?
Border region offers those enlisting in military highest bonus in Russia
Authorities in Russia’s southwestern Belgorod region, located on the border with Ukraine, have offered a record one-time payment of 3 million rubles (€28,400) to those wishing to enlist in the military, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced on Monday.
https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2024/10/07/russias-border-region-offers-highest-sign-up-payment-to-contract-servicemen-yet-en-news
Arrests of Americans have become increasingly common in Russia in recent years. Concern has risen that Russia could be targeting U.S. nationals for arrest to use later as bargaining chips in talks to bring back Russians convicted of crimes in the U.S. and Europe.
Russia wants people to move there so we can lock them up.
From what I’ve been able to find, a mercenry is defined in the Oxford dictionary as “a professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army.”
If he is from the states and has neither a dual citizenship or is not a US citizen, then it would apply and he would not be a mercenary. But the Ukraine is accepting anyone they can get no questions asked.
The Ukrainians even have mixtures of more than 50 foreign country fighters. In March of the year, it was announced the death of Jean-Francois Ratelle the commander of the Norman Brigade, which, according to CTV News, is “a fighting force of volunteers from several different countries commanded by a CAF veteran who goes by ‘Hrulf.’” He was Canadian. So they are coming from every where.
Supreme Court precedent states that foreign military service can never be used to take away your citizenship. That being said, there is a law that can potentially result in three years behind bars if you’re fighting against a country at peace with the United States. While there are some concerns this law could be used to prosecute Americana volunteering to fight against Russia in Ukraine, it is very rarely enforced. 18 U.S.C. 958.
wy69
If a mercenary is serving as a soldier in a nations armed forces then he isn’t a mercenary for hire, he is legally just a soldier.
There are international rules governing who is a soldier and who is a mercenary and the rules are different if one becomes a prisoner.
Also, Ukraine doesn’t use mercenaries, Russia does as we all know and Russia is open about that, all of Ukraine’s foreign volunteers are legally part of the official Ukraine military and fight for the normal pay, if captured they are POWs.
“... international rules governing who is a soldier and who is a mercenary...”
The law I quoted concerning participating in a war against a country at peace with the US is what governs American citizens.
As for the international law, As defined by Article 47 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, a mercenary is any person who:
is specially recruited locally or abroad,
does, in fact, participate directly in the hostilities,
is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain
and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a party to the conflict, material compensation
So, he moved from the states, entered into the conflict no matter what his status was, and pleaded guilty to the charges. Pretty cut and dry.
wy69
If the article was correct he is a soldier of Ukraine, in their reserves, just as an American in the French Foreign Legion is a French soldier of the French Army, not a mercenary for hire.
We have foreigners in our military as well, they are not mercenaries.
When one enlists into a foreign military they are part of that military, they are not part of a mercenary force like Wagner is or any of the other Russian mercenary groups, Russia also has foreigners who enlist into their official state military forces and who are not mercenaries.
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