Freed US citizen was tortured in Russian jail, former Ukrainian prisoners say

What the report says

BBC World News reported that two Ukrainians who were detained in Russian prisons with freed US citizen Stephen Hubbard said they saw him beaten, denied care and subjected to humiliating treatment by guards during his captivity. The men, Dmytro Khyliuk and Ihor Shyshko, described conditions at Novozybkov and later Pakino prisons in Russia, where Hubbard was held after his capture in April 2022 in the occupied eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum.

According to their accounts, Hubbard was targeted because he was American and was treated more harshly than other detainees. They said guards mocked him, forced him to speak Russian and follow prison rules he could not read, and in some cases used violence and intimidation. BBC also reported that the two former prisoners said Hubbard’s health deteriorated over time, with poor food, cold cells and limited medical attention worsening his condition. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it seeks access to every detainee when allowed and continues discussions with parties to the conflict.

Hubbard, who is 74, was released by the Kremlin after four-and-a-half years, around the time US envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg. The article said US President Donald Trump had asked Putin in a phone call the previous week to free Hubbard. BBC noted that Hubbard had been convicted in Moscow and sentenced to six years and 10 months on accusations tied to Ukraine’s armed forces, a case his family has disputed.