A Russian proxy court has sentenced two British fighters to death for joining the Ukrainian army in the fight against advancing Russian troops in Ukraine.
Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, were in the dock with a Moroccan man, Saaudun Brahim, in the self-declared People’s Republic of Donetsk’s supreme court.
They were apprehended in Mariupol in April while fighting with Ukrainian forces against Russian invaders.
The British soldiers, as well as the Moroccan citizen, who is a student studying in Kyiv before being detained in April, were accused of being “mercenaries” and charged with “terrorism” by Russia and Kremlin-backed Donetsk separatists.
Yesterday, the three defendants were forced to plead guilty to the accusations in front of television cameras.
The captives are the “first foreign mercenaries convicted in the Donetsk People’s Republic,” according to Donetsk news agency.
According to the preceding Judge, Alexander Nikulin, the verdict “was guided not only by the prescribed norms and rules but also by the most important, unshakable principle of justice.”
One of the British soldiers said: “I was hoping the sentence would be a lot fairer judging the circumstances in which I helped the investigation and also because I surrendered to the Donetsk People’s Republic. I wish it could be different but God will be the one that will judge me when the time comes.”
Reacting to the sentence, a “Number 10” spokesperson said: “We are obviously deeply concerned by this.
“We have said continually that prisoners of war shouldn’t be exploited for political purposes.
“You will know that under the Geneva Convention prisoners of war are entitled to combatant immunity and they should not be prosecuted for participation in hostilities.
“So we will continue to work with the Ukrainian authorities to try to secure the release of any British nationals who were serving in the Ukrainian armed forces and who are being held as prisoners of war.”