James Scott Rhys Anderson guilty of ‘combatant operations’ and ‘terrorist actions’, asserts court press agency.
James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, was found culpable of “combatant operations” and “terrorism” after a brief three-day classified military adjudication in Kursk, as reported by the regional court press department on Wednesday.
Anderson, taken captive in November during Ukraine’s strike into Kursk, confessed to the allegations brought against him, according to the press agency.
Per the conditions of his veredict, Anderson will initially incarcerate for five years before being transferred to a prison camp for the residual duration of his sentence, as stated by the press department.
Video disseminated by the court depicted Anderson quietly acknowledging the verdict after its translation to him.
The United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office refuted Anderson’s ruling on purported false charges.
“According to international law, detainees of war ought not face prosecution for warfare involvement,” a spokesperson noted.
“We insist that Russia abides by these commitments, such as those established by the Geneva Conventions, and desists from exploiting prisoners of war for political or controversial issues.”
Previously, in 2022, a court operating within the Russian-annexed Donetsk Oblast condemned to death two British nationals and a Moroccan man on charges of foreign mercenary activity and “terrorism”.
Those three men were later liberated as part of a prisoner swap that Saudi Arabia mediated.
Follow-up to Russia’s comprehensive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the then-Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced that over 20,000 individuals from 52 countries had volunteered to combat for Ukraine.
