The Leninsky District Court of Kursk sent 22-year-old British citizen James Scott Reese Anderson to a pre-trial detention center on charges of terrorism and mercenary activities during an armed conflict, the press service of the Investigative Committee reported.
According to the investigation, in mid-November 2024, Anderson illegally crossed the Russian border as part of an armed group and entered the territory of the Kursk region. "After the invasion, with the aim of intimidating the population, causing significant property damage, and destabilizing the activities of government bodies, [the group members] committed criminal acts against the civilian population," the Investigative Committee's statement said.
The day before, Russian Telegram channels published a video of the British citizen, who claims he served as a signalman in the British army but was discharged last year, shortly before he decided to go to Ukraine.
The father of the captured Briton, Scott Anderson, told the publication that the family tried to persuade his son not to go to Ukraine before he joined the unit about eight months ago, but he did not succumb to persuasion as he was categorically against "what is happening to the Ukrainian people." "I hope he will be exchanged, but my son told me that they torture their prisoners, and I am very afraid that he will be tortured," the father told Daily Mail.
The UK Foreign Office stated that it is providing support to Anderson's family who is in captivity.