Ukraine ‘Azov regiment’ prisoners of war go on trial in Russia
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It's been awhile since anything was said about Azov prisoners of war, who were captured by the Russian military and imprisoned in Russia. Today's post will focus on their trials and it's outcome. Stay tuned!
More than 20 Ukrainian soldiers who were taken prisoner during the months-long battle to defend the port city of Mariupol from Moscow’s forces have gone on trial in southern Russia.
The captured soldiers were members of the Azov regiment, an elite Ukrainian armed forces unit that fought against Russian troops for months in the Sea of Azov port of Mariupol.
After three months of ferocious battle at the Port City of Mariupol, the Ukrainian armed forces unit that were bunkered at the mill were taken as captives to Russia and on Wednesday, the court in Russia’s southern Rostov-on-Don started hearings cases against the Azov personnel, a military unit which Russia had described as a “terrorist group”.
In August last year, the Russian government announced that members of the Azov regiments as a terrorists groups and this is one of the charges leveled against the Ukrainian Azov soldiers.
The ruling by Russia’s Supreme Court allows for lengthy prison terms for the members of Azov, who Russian authorities have accused of harbouring neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideology.
Two of the 24 people facing charges have been swapped for Russian prisoners of war as part of a prisoner exchange, the AP reported.
The total number of Ukrainian soldiers (Azov prisoners) facing trials in southern Russia are 22 and amongst them are eight women. Photographs taken inside the court on Wednesday showed the Ukrainian soldiers pale and very thin – the men with their heads shaved tight – seated behind a glass panel inside the courtroom.
The defendants are facing charges of involvement in a terrorist organisation and taking part in action to overthrow the Russia-backed authorities in the Donetsk region. They face sentences ranging from 15 years to life in prison if convicted.
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