A Russian court has begun hearing the case against 24 Ukrainian soldiers from the Azov Battalion, seized in May 2022 during the battle for the city of Mariupol. The battalion members—including eight women—face charges of involvement with a "terrorist organization," and participating in activities to "overthrow" Russian authorities. The Russian Supreme Court designated Azov a "terrorist organization" in August 2022. Photographs captured by the Associated Press show soldiers from the Azov Battalion at a military court in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. In the photographs, the captured soliders sit with shaved heads behind a glass panel, separating them from others present in court. Russian prosecutors first filed the charges against the Azov fighters this May, according to state news agency TASS.

The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, protested the opening of the trial June 15. 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) expressed a similar sentiment in August 2022, citing concerns that Russia may begin illegal trials of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

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. The battalion has been fighting Russian-backed separatists in the eastern region of Ukraine since the conflict began there in 2014. From Feb. 24 to May 20, 2022, the battalion was critical in defending Mariupol against a Russian siege that drew international condemnation.

If convicted, the Azov Battalion members on trial in Rostov-on-Don face sentences ranging from 15 years to life in prison.

From Jurist, June 15. Used with permission.

Note: Mariupol is in Donetsk oblast, one of four regions of Ukraine unilaterally annexed by Russia. The Azov Battalion has been the focus of controversies related to its origins as a far-right irregular paramilitary force in 2014.