A former member of the Czech Army has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for fighting on the side of pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Martin Sukup, 49, was found guilty on January 4 by the Prague City Court on charges linked to terrorism, Czech media reported.
His lawyers said they would appeal the ruling, maintaining their client is innocent.
Sukup was tried in absentia as he is believed to be in eastern Ukraine.
Sukup is reported to have traveled to eastern Ukraine in 2014 when Russia seized control of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and began backing separatists in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. At least 13,200 people have died in the conflict.
Moscow has consistently rejected accusations that it is actively involved in the eastern Ukrainian conflict despite years of evidence to the contrary, including Russian troops being captured in the war zone.
Prosecutors said Sukup had joined separatists in the Donetsk region, and was active from June 2014 until at least May 2018, including taking part in especially bloody fighting against Ukrainian forces in Kramatorsk and Horlivka.
Prosecutors said Sukup left an incriminating trail on social media, including posing with so-called medals for his role in “liberating Donbas,” as the industrial heartland of eastern Ukraine is also called.
