Czech POW sentenced to 13 years in jail by Russian court for fighting for Ukraine
A Czech foreign fighter taken into Russian captivity has been sentenced to 13 years behind bars for "mercenary work," after he was captured near Pokrovsk in August this year.
The sentence was handed down to Hoang Tran on Dec. 3 by a regional court in Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast under article 359 of the Russian Criminal Code, which covers mercenary activity.
Tran's case is just the latest case of Russian prosecution of a captured foreign fighter as a mercenary, which, in Moscow's interpretation of international law, deprives them of the rights traditionally held by prisoners of war (POWs).
21-year-old Tran was captured in the village of Chervonyi Lyman, north of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, as Russian forces looked to shut off logistics routes into the city.
Photographs and videos of the fighter emerging soon after his capture showed injuries to his face and arm.
Born in Prague, Tran also holds Vietnamese citizenship.
Though Czech media assert that Tran signed up to defend Ukraine, the sentencing assessed his motivation as being "with the aim of financial reward."
Since Moscow recognizes foreign fighters only as mercenaries, those that end up in captivity are often charged with terrorism.
In 2022, two British volunteers, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, as well as one Moroccan, Ibrahim Sadun, were sentenced to death by Russian proxies in Donetsk Oblast after their capture in the Battle of Mariupol. They were later released.
In March 2025, nine foreign nationals were sentenced by Russia for under terrorism and mercenary activity charges after being captured during the Kursk Oblast incursion.
One of them, 22-year-old British fighter James Scott Rhys Anderson, was sentenced to 19 years' jail.
