Stephen James Hubbard, a native of Big Rapids, Mich., whose family says is an English teacher, was sentenced to six years and 10 months in a penal colony.

A Moscow court sentenced 72-year-old American Stephen James Hubbard to nearly seven years in prison for fighting in Ukraine as "a mercenary," Russian independent media outlet Mediazona reported on Oct.

A Moscow court has sentenced US citizen Stephen Hubbard, 72, to 6 years and 10 months in prison. The prosecution accuses Hubbard of fighting for Ukraine. Source: Mediazona, a Russian news outlet Details: Mediazona reported that the court also ordered the confiscation of Hubbard's money - 142,

A Russian court on Monday sentenced a 72-year-old American in a closed trial to nearly seven years in prison for allegedly fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine. Prosecutors said Stephen Hubbard signed a contract with the Ukrainian military after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and he fought alongside them until being captured two months later.

Hubbard was captured less than two months later, according to Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti. In a closed trial on Monday, Hubbard stood handcuffed inside a glass cell and removed a hat from his shaven head as a judge pronounced him guilty.

Stephen Hubbard, who moved to Ukraine in 2014, was captured by Russian soldiers in Izyum in April 2022, and was charged with serving in a territorial defense unit.

A Russian court on Monday sentenced a 72-year-old U.S. citizen 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.

Stephen Hubbard, 72, of Michigan, is sentenced to nearly seven years in prison. (Credit: APTN)