Russia court slaps 13-year jail term on British national

A Russia-controlled court in Ukraine's Donetsk region has sentenced a British citizen to 13 years for fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine, a Russian prosecutor said on Thursday, a verdict condemned by Britain.

The supreme court in Donetsk convicted Hayden Davies, who was taken prisoner in 2024, of participating as a mercenary in an armed conflict and sentenced him to 13 years at a maximum security penal colony, Russia's general prosecutor said in a statement.

Britain's Foreign Office, however, said Davies was not a mercenary and should be treated as a prisoner of war.

"We strongly condemn the sentencing of British national Hayden Davies in a Russian-controlled court on false charges," the UK's foreign ministry said.

"Under international law, prisoners of war cannot be prosecuted for participating in hostilities. We demand that Russia respect these obligations, including those under the Geneva Conventions, and stop using prisoners of war for political and propaganda purposes."

A video released by the prosecutors showed Davies listening to the verdict from inside a metal cage.

He told the court via a translator that he came to Ukraine via Poland and that he was paid $500 a month to fight.

Prosecutors said Davies travelled to Ukraine in 2024, where he received training before fighting against Russian forces before being captured at the end of the year.

The prosecutors gave Davies' age as 30, but reports in the British media have identified him as a 31-year-old from the southern city of Southampton.

Since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, several foreign citizens have been sentenced by Russia-installed courts in eastern Ukrainian regions controlled partially or in whole by Moscow.

In early December, a Czech was sentenced to 13 years in prison by a court in Lugansk and in November, two Colombians received the same sentence in a Donetsk court.

UK denounces long prison sentence

The UK government on Thursday denounced a long prison sentence given to a British man by a Russia-controlled court for fighting for Ukraine as a mercenary, calling the charges "false".

"We strongly condemn the sentencing of British national Hayden Davies in a Russian-controlled court on false charges," a Foreign Office statement said.

"Under international law, Prisoners of War cannot be prosecuted for participating in hostilities. We demand that Russia respect these obligations, including those under the Geneva Conventions, and stop using Prisoners of War for political and propaganda purposes," it added.