Georgian citizen Georgiy Chubetidze was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Russian court in Donetsk. He was captured in late 2023 while fighting on the Ukrainian side. Human rights activists have recognized him as a political prisoner.
The court and investigators claim that Chubetidze fought in various Ukrainian military units from 2014 to November 2023. He was accused of mercenarism and attempts on the lives of Russian servicemen.
In March 2025, Russian human rights activists recognized seven foreigners persecuted in Russia for serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces as political prisoners. This list includes Georgiy Chubetidze, Georgiy Goglidze, and Mamuka Gatsrelia, who was previously sentenced to life imprisonment.
As explained by the "Support for Political Prisoners" project. Memorial, the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts does not define individuals officially serving in the armed forces of one of the parties to the conflict as mercenaries. All the foreigners mentioned, according to the project, served under contract in official units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
