At least 58 Ukrainians who returned home in the October 23 exchange had previously been sentenced by Russian courts in criminal cases, according to a count by the Political Prisoners Support. Memorial project.
A total of 270 people returned to Ukraine in the exchange: 261 military personnel and nine civilians. Potok previously reported on the exchange itself.
Memorial compared the list of those released with known Russian criminal cases and found that at least 58 had received sentences. Three had been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Russian courts charged members of this group under various criminal statutes, including terrorism, murder and participation in banned formations.
The figure of 58 is Memorial’s own count and includes only those released people the organization was able to identify from available records.