A Serbian court has overturned the one-year prison sentence handed down to a citizen who fought for Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine in 2015.

The Court of Appeal in Belgrade let Vlado Stanic go free after lowering his conviction to a suspended sentence, according to his lawyer.

The decision was made on December 13, 2022, but Stanic's lawyer only received the official decision yesterday.

Stanic was arrested at Belgrade's airport on July 15, 2022, and charged with joining the Russian-backed Hussar Regiment paramilitary formation.

According to reports, Stanic checked passengers and vehicles entering and leaving Snezno, a town in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine. He allegedly wore the official uniform of the Luhansk and Donetsk separatists.

Stanic was among 300 Serbian citizens who participated on the side of the Kremlin-backed forces from 2014 through 2018, according to estimates of the Embassy of Ukraine in Serbia.

Serbia has historically had close ties with Russia.

Serbia's Criminal Code forbids citizens from participating in foreign wars. The act is punishable with a prison sentence of six months to five years.

The penalty is higher -- from one to eight years --for participating in a war as part of a paramilitary group.

Stanic was sentenced in September to one year in prison by an extrajudicial verdict after pleading guilty. His lawyer, Katarina Nikic, immediately filed an appeal.

Serbia has convicted 32 citizens for participating in the war but the sentences handed down have been mild.

In 28 cases, the court sentenced the defendants to a suspended prison sentence, while four people were sentenced to house arrest for six months.

One of those sentenced to house arrest was a man who helped recruit fighters. According to the Criminal Code, the punishment for recruiting fighters is from two to 10 years.

The lenient punishments have had consequences. Several Serbian citizens convicted of fighting in Ukraine violated their probation and returned to the front.