The sentencing of Ukrainian soldiers from the "Azov" regiment by Russian courts has drawn significant attention from the international community due to serious violations of international law and human rights. The prisoners, captured during the siege of Mariupol in 2022, were sentenced to long prison terms — ranging from 13 to 23 years — for alleged membership in a "terrorist organization." These accusations are based on Russia's designation of the "Azov" regiment as a terrorist organization, despite its status as a legitimate military unit in Ukraine.
The trials, which sparked international outrage, were accompanied by violations of international humanitarian law. On March 26, 2025, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don passed sentences on 23 Ukrainian prisoners, who were connected to the "Azov" regiment at different times. Twelve of them received prison terms ranging from 13 to 23 years in a high-security penal colony. Another 11 were sentenced in absentia after returning to Ukraine in a prisoner exchange — two of them received 23 years, and nine women, who had worked as army cooks at different times, were sentenced to 13-14 years in a general regime colony. All of the women were exchanged in September 2024.
The accusations against the "Azov" soldiers are based on claims that they had served in the "Azov" regiment at various times and allegedly expressed negative attitudes towards Russian-speaking people and held pro-Ukrainian radical views. Some of the accused participated in the defense of Mariupol and Azovstal, while others, by the time of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, had already left the regiment and were detained at their homes or during filtration. The case was initiated in the self-proclaimed "DPR" and later transferred to the court in Rostov-on-Don.
The trials were accompanied by numerous violations of the accused's rights. The soldiers reported torture, denial of medical assistance, and degrading treatment while in detention. Confessions obtained under torture were used as key evidence in court, calling into question the legitimacy of the trial. This contradicts the provisions of the Geneva Conventions, to which Russia is a party, which require humane treatment of prisoners of war and prohibit any forms of coercion to obtain confessions.
The Geneva Conventions, particularly Article 17 of the Third Geneva Convention, demand the protection of prisoners of war from violence and prohibit forced confessions. The actions against the "Azov" soldiers violate these norms. The trial did not meet international standards of fairness, failing to provide the accused with a fair and transparent trial. These violations are part of a broader pattern of violations of international law by Russian forces during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.