The group consists of a total of 23 people, of whom 14 are or have been part of the Ukrainian Azov Brigade, which is now part of Ukraine's army. In Russia, it is stamped as a terrorist group. In addition, there are nine women and one man who worked as cooks or other support staff for the Ukrainian military.
Twelve of the defendants were not present, as eleven had returned to Ukraine in prisoner exchanges and one had died in captivity.
The charges concern an alleged attempt at a coup and terrorist activities. The verdict was handed down in a military court at one of the invasion power's headquarters in the city of Rostov-on-Don near Ukraine. The convicted individuals will receive sentences ranging from 13 to 23 years in prison.
The Russian human rights organization Memorial, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, describes the convicted Ukrainians as political prisoners. Several of them were taken captive in connection with battles in Mariupol, when the city in southern Ukraine was under heavy Russian siege in 2022. Others in the group are said to have been detained while trying to flee the city when Russia took control of it.
The trial is being condemned as a sham trial and a farce by the Ukrainian parliament's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.
It is obvious to everyone that those who should be standing in the dock are not those who are defending themselves, but those who launched the attack, those who invaded foreign territory with military force, and those who arrived with tanks on a sovereign state's territory, he says.
