KURSK. Dec 10 (Interfax) - The Kursk Regional Court has sentenced New Zealand citizen Jordan O'Brien in absentia for fighting Russian troops as a mercenary, the joint press service for the Kursk regional judiciary said.
The court found O'Brien guilty of taking part in the armed conflict as a mercenary and sentenced him to 14 years in a high-security penitentiary, the press service said.
Investigators found that O'Brien joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces as a mercenary in 2022 and took part in the hostilities against Russian troops. He illegally crossed into the Kursk region with the Ukrainian army in August 2024 and continued his involvement in the armed conflict.
O'Brien is an internationally wanted fugitive. Earlier, a district court in Moscow issued a warrant for his arrest in absentia.
The press service said that the imprisonment term would be calculated after the sentence comes into force, in the case of extradition or deportation to Russia, from the moment of crossing the state border or from the moment of actual detention on the territory of the Russian Federation.