Russian court to hear case of American charged as mercenary behind closed doors, TASS says

A gavel and a block is pictured at the George Glazer Gallery antique store in this illustration picture taken in Manhattan, New York City

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian court decided to hear the case of Stephen Hubbard, a U.S. citizen accused of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, behind closed doors, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Thursday.

Russian state media have cited prosecutors as saying Hubbard signed a contract with a Ukrainian territorial defence unit in the city of Izyum in February 2022. He was captured by Russian forces that April.

(Writing by Felix Light; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)