Iruni Kalupahana JadeTimes Staff
I. Kalupahana is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Russia-Ukraine war
A Russian court in Rostov on Don has found 23 Ukrainian citizens guilty of terrorism related offenses, prompting Kyiv and global rights organizations to express strong criticism. Among the defendants are 12 members of Ukraine's Azov Brigade, which was instrumental in defending Mariupol in the initial months of Russia's invasion. The accused face charges of trying to organize a violent coup and conducting activities for a so called "terrorist" group. The court sentenced them to prison terms of 13 to 23 years in penal colonies under harsh conditions.
The decision has been widely condemned as a political move, and the majority are labeling it an insult to international law. Independent Russian news website Mediazona reported on how, in addition to the 12 Azov fighters, 11 others, including army chefs who had already been returned to Ukraine in prisoner exchanges, were handed in absentia sentences. Some of the sentenced Ukrainians plan to appeal, alleging their testimony was coerced.
The verdict came a day after Russia and Ukraine said they would stop attacking each other's ships in the Black Sea, raising hopes for a broadened ceasefire. But human rights organizations say that the trial proves Russia's ongoing crackdown on Ukrainian defenders. The Russian rights group Memorial, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, has announced the convicted men political prisoners and criticized the legitimacy of the trial.
The majority of the defendants, Memorial reported, were arrested in 2022, when they surrendered in the siege of Mariupol, where they had been holed up in the besieged Azovstal steel plant. Others were arrested attempting to leave the city when it was captured by Russian forces. The Ukrainian parliament's human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, described the trial as a sham, and said that the actual aggressors the Russian army were not on trial.
The Azov Brigade has been a contentious subject in Russia-Ukraine relations for decades. Moscow labels the unit as a neo-Nazi force and employs this to justify its operations. Ukraine has vehemently rejected this, claiming that Azov was integrated into the country's National Guard in 2014 and had distanced itself from earlier nationalist affiliations. The brigade's combatants are regarded by the majority of Ukrainians as national heroes due to their resistance during the Mariupol siege.
This new guilty conviction helps to show the ongoing political and legal battle between Russia and Ukraine, even with diplomatic talks. Kyiv called on the world to condemn the trial and support its citizens who have endured what it describes as an unfair judicial process. The tensions between the two are still elevated, with no signs of a cessation of hostilities in general.
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