London: Australian man Oscar Jenkins has been sentenced to 13 years in a Russian maximum-security prison after being convicted of fighting as a mercenary alongside Ukrainian forces.
The 33-year-old from Melbourne, captured in December last year while serving in Ukraine’s military, was found guilty by a court in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine.
Australian man Oscar Jenkins, 33, was jailed in a Russia-controlled court in Luhansk on FridayCredit: Prosecutor’s Office of the Luhansk People’s Republic
Russian authorities claimed Jenkins, a former biology teacher in China, was paid up to 800,000 rubles ($15,000) a month to participate in military operations against their troops. State run media reported that he had “fully admitted his guilt”.
The court ruling, delivered on Friday, classified Jenkins’s actions as mercenary activity, meaning he was not entitled to prisoner-of-war protections under international law. He was ordered to be transferred to “a strict regime penal colony”. It is unknown whether he was provided with legal representation; such hearings have previously been referred to as “sham trials”.
Prosecutors claimed that Jenkins had arrived in Ukraine in February last year at the Ternopil recruiting centre, in western Ukraine, where after training he received uniforms, weapons and ammunition. He was then sent to serve in the village of Shchurovo in the Kramatorsk district.
They alleged he then fought against Russian forces in the Donbas region with the 402nd Separate Rifle Battalion, part of the 66th Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, until his capture near Makeyevka. The Kremlin maintains that foreign fighters in Ukraine are mercenaries, subject to criminal prosecution rather than the protections afforded to prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention.
Jenkins was filmed in December after his capture, bound and subjected to harsh interrogation by Russian forces. In the video, which was widely circulated online, he was slapped and questioned about his role in the conflict and whether he was being paid to fight. The footage prompted international outrage and raised concerns over the treatment of foreign nationals in Russian custody.
Following reports that Jenkins had been killed while in captivity, the Australian government summoned the Russian ambassador in January to demand clarification. However, new videos emerged in February showing Jenkins alive but visibly frail and possibly suffering from a broken arm. His appearance led to further concerns about his wellbeing while under Russian detention.
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