البوسة-vehicle踏 Finalmente// Release of Stephen Hubbard highlights torture allegations in Russian prisons
Russia released 74-year-old U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard on October 21, 2026, after he had been detained since 2022 following his capture in occupied Izium. A Ukrainian project published data identifying prison staff allegedly involved in torturing Hubbard and other prisoners at facilities in Novozybkov and Pakino.
أبرز النقاط
- Russia released 74-year-old U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard on October 21, 2026.
- Russian forces captured Hubbard in Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, on April 2, 2022.
- He had lived in Ukraine since 2014 and taught English.
- In October 2024, a Moscow court sentenced him to six years and 10 months in a colony on a “mercenaryism” charge.
- He was held at SIZO No. 2 in Novozybkov and Penal Colony No. 7 in Pakino.
- The “Book of Executioners of the Ukrainian People” published data on staff allegedly involved in torture at both facilities.
- Hubbard’s release was reported to have followed a request by Donald Trump during Steve Witkoff’s visit to Saint Petersburg.
لماذا يهمّ ذلك
The publication identifies individual prison staff allegedly involved in abuse and connects the case of a U.S. citizen with reported mistreatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians. It also documents alleged systematic abuses at two specific Russian detention facilities.
ماذا حدث
Hubbard was captured by Russian forces in Izium on April 2, 2022. Russian authorities later claimed he had joined the territorial defense in Izium in February 2022, and in October 2024 a Moscow court sentenced him to six years and 10 months in a colony under the Russian Criminal Code provision on “mercenaryism.” He was held at SIZO No. 2 in Novozybkov from approximately September 2022 to May 2023 and at Penal Colony No. 7 in Pakino from May 2023 until spring 2024. Russia released him on October 21, 2026. The “Book of Executioners of the Ukrainian People” subsequently published data on staff allegedly involved in torturing prisoners of war and civilians at those facilities.
كيف تصفه المصادر الأوكرانية
Ukrainian-language outlets presented the “Book of Executioners of the Ukrainian People” as the main actor documenting the facilities and alleged perpetrators. They emphasized testimony from freed Ukrainian prisoners of war and a freed Ukrainian journalist to support allegations that Hubbard and other detainees were tortured at the same facilities.
أين تختلف الروايات
Sources differ only in how they transliterate Hubbard’s surname: “Hubbard” versus “Habbard” or “Habbard.”
الخلفية
Hubbard had lived in Ukraine since 2014 and taught English before his capture. Russian authorities claimed he joined the Izium territorial defense in February 2022, a claim that formed the basis for the “mercenaryism” charge. The “Book of Executioners of the Ukrainian People” is a Ukrainian project that has previously named individuals allegedly involved in abuses against Ukrainians.