For more than four years, Stephen James Hubbard's world was narrowed to a Russian prison cell, a Bible, and almost no one to talk to. The New York Times reports that the 74-year-old retired teacher from the US, freed last week after intervention from President Trump, says he survived fabricated charges of being a Ukrainian mercenary by reading his mother's Bible and waiting out a system he barely understood. A guard's quiet whisper of one word—"home"—signaled his release was finally real, after repeated false starts. Hubbard's younger sister has told the AP that he didn't know he was actually being freed until he boarded an airplane and spotted an American flag.
"He may have thought he was going to his death," she said. In his own interview, his first since his Oct. 21 release, Hubbard avoided slamming Russia too hard or describing his capture in Ukraine in detail, saying he doesn't want to jeopardize other Americans still being kept prisoner there, per the Times. Designated "wrongfully detained" by the State Department, Hubbard said he was beaten but "not severely," underfed, and at one point forced to sing the Russian anthem, though he noted that he was given some books to read during his time there.
When asked by CNN to describe his treatment behind Russian bars, Hubbard said, "It's not something I would want to repeat." However, he added that "in some ways it was spiritually good, because you're there alone and you have much time to think about your past life." Now in Washington and preparing to meet Trump, he credits the president for his freedom and hopes his case will help others, per the Times. More here from Hubbard.
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