Moscow Court Authorized Conor Kennedy’s Arrest in Absentia, TASS Says

Russian state news agency TASS reported Aug. 12 that a Moscow court authorized Conor Kennedy’s arrest in absentia on a mercenary charge and that he had been placed on an international wanted list.

Kennedy is the son of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He is also the grandson of former U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy and a grandnephew of former President John F. Kennedy.

The Basmanny District Court of Moscow granted investigators’ request for the arrest, according to the report. Kennedy’s defense appealed, but an appeals court upheld the ruling. TASS said the proceedings were held behind closed doors.

According to TASS, Kennedy is accused of acting as a mercenary for the Ukrainian armed forces. The charge falls under Part 3 of Article 353 of the Russian Criminal Code, covering a mercenary’s participation in an armed conflict or military action, according to the report. A conviction carries seven to 10 years in prison.

Kennedy has described the trip himself. In an earlier social media post cited by TASS, he said he returned from Ukraine in October 2022 after taking part in combat near Kharkiv with the International Legion. The agency reported that he fought incognito.

TASS said Russian courts had issued similar in absentia arrest rulings against other foreign nationals accused of fighting for Ukraine. The agency reported that those individuals also had been placed on the international wanted list and that the decisions had taken legal effect.

Virginia Times has not independently verified TASS’s account of the court action or wanted-list designation. The report did not include a response from Kennedy.