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Russia court begins criminal trial against Ukraine’s Azov battalion – JURIST

A Russian court began hearing the case against more than 20 Ukrainian soldiers from the Azov battalion, seized in May 2022 from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. The members of the Azov battalion—including eight women—face charges of involvement with a terrorist organization and participating in action to overthrow Russian authorities.Photographs captured by the Associated Press show men from the Azov battalion in a Russian military court at Rostov-on-Don, Russia. In the photographs, the men sit with shaved heads behind a glass panel, separating the Azov members from others present in court.Russian prosecutors first filed the charges against 24 members of the Azov battalion in May, according to Russian state news agency TASS. Under the Russian Criminal Code, Azov members face charges of forcible seizure of power, participation in an illegal armed formation and training for the purpose of terrorist activities. Each of the charges are enhanced by a terrorist designation, since the Russian Supreme Court designated Azov as a terrorist organization in August 2022.The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s Parliament, commented on the beginning of the trial Thursday. They claimed the trial has no legal basis, citing international law and military immunity. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), “Combatant immunity bars the prosecution of combatants for mere participation in hostilities.” The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) echoed a similar sentiment in August 2022, citing concerns that Russia may begin trials of Ukrainian prisoners of war—like the members of the Azov battalion.The Azov battalion is a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine. The unit hails from the city of Mariupol, which is located along the Sea of Azov—from which the unit derives its name. A JURIST dispatch from Ukraine described the group’s long history in fighting separatists and Russian armed forces in the eastern region of Ukraine, beginning as early as 2014. Most notably, the Azov battalion was responsible for defending Mariupol against a Russian siege which drew international condemnation for its severity. From February 24, 2022 through May 20, 2022, the Azov battalion held. It was only once the battalion surrendered that the city fell to Russian control.If convicted, the 20-plus members of the Azov battalion on trial in Rostov-on-Don face sentences ranging from 15 years to life in prison.