Decades ago, Stephen James Hubbard left America and traveled to Japan, Cyprus, and eventually Ukraine. He was a wanderer who grew up in Michigan, and ended up alone in the town of Izium in eastern Ukraine when the Russians invaded in February 2022. Now, at 73 years old, the retired English teacher has become a pawn in an international war.
After being arrested by the Russians and accused of fighting for Ukraine, Mr. Hubbard was moved to various detention centers before being sentenced to nearly seven years in a penal colony. The State Department has declared his detention as wrongful, believing that the charges against him are fabricated.
Despite his family’s efforts to locate him, Mr. Hubbard’s whereabouts remain unknown. His case has brought attention to the treatment of Americans in Russian prisons, with concerns raised about the conditions he may be enduring.
Mr. Hubbard’s solitary nature and unconventional life path have led him to a situation where he is now trapped in a foreign prison, with little hope of being released. The details of his ordeal are harrowing, with reports of torture and mistreatment at the hands of his captors. The uncertainty surrounding his fate and the lack of transparency from Russian authorities have only added to the distress of his loved ones.