A Moscow court announced on Wednesday, August 28, that it had provisionally detained two Colombians accused of being mercenaries for having fought against Russian forces in Ukraine.
“The Lefortovo district court of Moscow granted the request of the authorities in charge of the preliminary investigation, impose a preventive measure in the form of provisional detention on Alexander Ante and José Aron Medina Aranda“the court said in a statement.
Both, of whom the court did not give further details, are accused of “mercenaries,” a crime that can lead to a 15-year prison sentence.
According to the Russian state news agency TASS, they are accused of having fought in the Ukrainian army against Moscow’s forces in Ukraine.
They were captured in Venezuela
In July the newspaper El Tiempo reported that The two Colombians were supposed to return via Venezuela, but were detained upon arrival in Caracas by the police of that country, an ally of Russia. Nothing was known about their situation afterwards..
According to a friend of Ante’s family quoted by the newspaper, they were wearing Ukrainian army uniforms when they were detained in Venezuela.
Russia, which launched its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, considers foreign volunteers fighting in the Ukrainian army to be “mercenaries”.
Engaging in mercenary activity is severely punished by the Russian criminal code, although Russia has several paramilitary groups, including Wagner, the best known of all.
Source: https://www.noticiascaracol.com/mundo/rusia-detiene-a-dos-colombianos-a-los-que-acusa-de-ser-mercenarios-cb20
