73-year-old Stephen James Hubbard, a retired American teacher, who was captured by Russian occupiers in Izium, Kharkiv region, is being tortured in prison because of his citizenship — NYT

Mr. Hubbard was accused of manning a checkpoint and fighting for Ukraine, and then convicted by Russia of being a mercenary last October and sentenced to almost seven years in a penal colony.

Mr. Hubbard is the only American remaining in Russia who has been designated by the U.S. State Department as "wrongfully detained," an indication that the United States believes the charges against him are fabricated.

According to Ukrainian prisoners of war who were held with Mr. Hubbard, he had been repeatedly tortured because he was an American — beaten, forced to stand all day, given little food and poor medical care. The Ukrainians said they feared for his life.

The man's family had no information on his whereabouts since his criminal conviction last fall. But in recent weeks, he has been able to call one of his sons.

Documents reviewed by The New York Times show that Mr. Hubbard is being held in the IK-12 penal colony in Mordovia, the southwestern Russian region commonly referred to as "prison land."

Mr. Hubbard previously lived in Izium until Russian occupiers abducted him at the start of the full-scale invasion.

Source: https://nytimes.com/2025/06/10/world/europe/stephen-hubbard-russia-ukraine.html
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