An American once imprisoned in Russia is sentenced in absentia as Ukraine mercenary

MOSCOW (AP) — An American who spent three years behind bars in Russia before being released in a prisoner exchange has been convicted in absentia for fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine.  Russia’s primary criminal investigation authority said in a statement that Trevor Reed was sentenced by a Russian court to 14 1/2 years in prison. Reed was injured in the fighting in eastern Ukraine in 2023 and treated in Germany. His whereabouts at the time of the sentencing were not immediately known. He was sentenced to nine years in a trial that US authorities called a sham.