A British man who was captured by Russia while fighting for Ukraine has been sentenced to 19 years in prison, a Russian court has said.
James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, was convicted of “mercenary activities” and a “terrorist act” after a three-day closed military trial in Kursk, the court press service for the region said on Wednesday.
Anderson, who was reportedly captured in November while participating in Ukraine’s cross-border offensive in Kursk, pleaded guilty to the charges against him, the press service said.
Under the terms of his sentence, Anderson will spend five years in prison before being transferred to a penal colony to serve out the remainder of his term, according to the press service.
Footage released by the court showed Anderson nodding silently after the ruling was translated for him.
The United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office condemned Anderson’s sentence on what it described as false charges.
“Under international law, prisoners of war cannot be prosecuted for participating in hostilities,” a spokesperson said.
“We demand that Russia respect these obligations, including those under the Geneva Conventions, and stop using prisoners of war for political and propaganda purposes.”
In 2022, a court in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region sentenced two British citizens and a Moroccan to death for acting as foreign mercenaries and partaking in “terrorist” activities.
The three men were later released as part of a prisoner exchange brokered by Saudi Arabia.
Speaking shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, then-Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said more than 20,000 people from 52 countries had volunteered to fight for Kyiv.
