{
  "id": 16012632,
  "title": "Russia releases 74-year-old American from captivity: where he was held and who tortured him",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/russia-releases-74-year-old-american-from-captivity-where-he-was-held",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-22T07:15:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Interfax-Ukraine",
    "slug": "interfax-ukraine",
    "url": "https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/press-release/1224316.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "On October 21, 2026, Russia released 74-year-old American citizen Stephen Hubbard, who had been held captive since April 2022. Hubbard was seized in the temporarily occupied city of Izium in Kharkiv Oblast and sentenced to six years and 10 months in a penal colony in October 2024 on charges of \"mercenarism.\" He was held in SIZO No. 2 in Novozybkov, Bryansk Oblast, and Penal Colony No. 7 in Pakino, Vladimir Oblast, where he endured severe torture, including beatings, electric shocks, starvation, and simulated sexual acts. The situation was exacerbated by his status as a US citizen and lack of Russian language proficiency, leading to additional abuse by prison staff.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Hill",
        "title": "Russia releases imprisoned American Stephen Hubbard",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/russia-releases-imprisoned-american-stephen-hubbard",
        "published": "2026-10-21T11:50:33.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}