Gujarat Youth Held by Ukraine Appeals to PM Modi for Release
Indian student captured in Ukraine pleads for government intervention.
A 23-year-old youth from Morbi district in Gujarat, Sahil Mohamed Hussein Majothi, has made a heartfelt public plea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and the Indian government for urgent diplomatic assistance to secure his release from Ukrainian custody, where he is being held after allegedly participating in combat on the Russian side during the ongoing conflict.
Majothi originally arrived in St Petersburg on January 10, 2024, holding a valid student visa to enroll in a Russian Language and Culture program at ITMO University, but his plans derailed when he became entangled in legal proceedings that he claims involved false accusations in a narcotics-related case, resulting in a seven-year prison sentence in Russia.
Facing prolonged incarceration, Majothi asserts that he was coerced into signing a military contract with Russian forces as a means to escape the harsh prison conditions, a decision he now describes as the gravest error of his life, which ultimately led to his deployment to the front lines and subsequent capture by Ukrainian troops.
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In two separate video recordings—one delivered in English and the other in Hindi—released by Ukrainian authorities and received by his family late Sunday night, Majothi portrays his current status as that of a designated war criminal confined in a military detention facility, conveying deep hopelessness regarding his uncertain fate and future prospects.
To caution others, he explicitly warns Indian nationals contemplating travel to Russia for educational or professional opportunities to remain vigilant against widespread fraudulent schemes that could ensnare them in fabricated criminal, narcotics, or other illegal charges, strongly advising avoidance of such risks altogether, while the videos prominently feature the logo of Ukraine's official "I Want to Live" initiative designed to facilitate voluntary surrenders by Russian-affiliated personnel.
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