Beatings, hunger and electric shock: what an American freed from Russian captivity experienced

74-year-old American Steven Hubbard has been released from prison in Russia after spending more than four years behind bars. According to former prisoners, he was beaten, tortured with electric shocks and starved while incarcerated.

This was reported by the project “Book of Executioners of the Ukrainian People”, which identifies those involved in the torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians.

Stephen Hubbard was detained by Russian military personnel on April 2, 2022, in occupied Izyum, Kharkiv Oblast. The American had lived in Ukraine since 2014 and taught English.

In October 2024, a Moscow court sentenced him to six years and ten months in prison on charges of mercenary activity. The Russian side claimed that the man had joined the territorial defense of Izyum. At the same time, the American’s relatives denied his participation in hostilities.

According to investigators, from September 2022 to May 2023, Hubbard was held in pre-trial detention center No. 2 in Novozybkov, Bryansk region. He was later transferred to correctional colony No. 7 in the village of Pakyne, Vladimir region, where he remained until the spring of 2024.

The American’s former cellmate, released Ukrainian prisoner of war Igor Shyshko, said that Russian prison guards beat Hubbard with batons and kicks, used electric shocks, used dogs on him, and forced him to crawl through the corridors. He said the American was also starved and humiliated for not knowing Russian.

The “Book of Executioners” project has published data on officials of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation, as well as other individuals involved in the illegal detention, torture, and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war in correctional colony No. 7 (Pakyne, Vladimir region) and pre-trial detention center No. 2 (Novozybkiv, Bryansk region).

• Major General Alexei Ivanovich Girichev headed the Department of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation for the Vladimir Region from March 2, 2020 to March 6, 2023.
• Colonel Mishanov Alexey Alexandrovich temporarily served as the Head of the Department of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation for the Vladimir Region from 03.2023 to 10.2023.
• Colonel Chudin Alexey Volodymyrovych temporarily served as the Head of the Department of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation for the Vladimir Region from 12.2023 to 03.2024.
• Colonel Shek Alexander Vasilyevich has been the head of the Department of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation for the Vladimir Region since April 2024.
• Lieutenant Colonel Zaydullin Bakhtiyar Mirverdirovych is the head of correctional colony No. 7.
• Lieutenant Colonel Gorbunov Denis Andriyovych held the position of head of correctional colony No. 7 in Zaydullin.
• Lieutenant Colonel Oleksiy Viktorovych Khavetsky is the deputy chief of the colony for security and operational work. In January 2025, the SBU informed him of suspicion of committing war crimes by a group of individuals in a prior conspiracy. According to the investigation, he was involved in the abuse of prisoners from at least May 2023 to February 2024.
• Mukhin Oleksiy Mikhailovich (data being verified), deputy head of the colony for security.
• Torokhov Volodymyr Serhiyovych (data being verified) — Head of the Operations Department.
• Vadim Volodymyrovych Napalkov (data being verified) — Deputy Head of the Security Department.
• Levshin Andriy Mikhailovich — Head of the “Medical Unit No. 7” branch of the medical and sanitary unit No. 33 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation (at least from March 2019 to September 2023). Probably responsible for the failure to provide medical care to Ukrainian prisoners.
• Yaroslav Alexandrovich Belov (data being verified) is a Russian convict who served his sentence in a colony, collaborated with the administration, and participated in the abuse of prisoners.
• Colonel Gerasimov Sergey Ermagenovich headed the Department of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation for the Bryansk Region from September 2020 to April 2024.
• Colonel Mishanov Alexey Alexandrovich has been the Head of the Department of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation for the Bryansk Region since April 22, 2024.
• Colonel Nesterov Dmitry Ivanovich – since October 2012, he has been the head of SIZO No. 2.
• Anatoly Kovalev (data is being revised) – as of 2022, he held the position of Deputy Head of the Pre-Trial Detention Center for Security and Operational Work.
• Oleg Nosov (data being verified) is the current deputy head of the pre-trial detention center for security and operational work.
• Oleksiy Pryshchep (data being verified) is the deputy head of the pre-trial detention center for security.
• Warrant Officer Oleg Kuzyakin (data being verified) is a corps sentry. Ukrainian military intelligence has established his involvement in the torture and beating of prisoners.
• Colonel Vasily Vasilyevich Sedrisev has been the head of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Mordovia since July 2021.

As a reminder,the American was released on October 21 after US President Donald Trump appealed to Vladimir Putin. This happened during the visit of special envoy Steve Witkoff to St. Petersburg.

Also on October 21, Witkoff reported on the continuation of trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia . During the meeting with Putin, the American side thanked for Hubbard’s release.

Previously, the “Book of Executioners” published an investigation into Russian judges who sentence Ukrainian prisoners . The researchers described the practice of prosecuting prisoners of war on charges of terrorism and mercenary activity.

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