Two Britons and a Moroccan captured in eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists were sentenced to death on Thursday. in the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic as “mercenaries” fighting in the service of kyiv, Russian media announced.
(Read: Russia appoints prime minister in self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic)
“The Supreme Court of the Donetsk People’s Republic sentenced Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and Moroccan Brahim Saadun to death.accused of having participated in the fighting as mercenaries” in the service of Ukraine, the official Russian agency TASS reported.
(He is interested in: Russia focuses on the internet as a new objective in its invasion of Ukraine)
The three defendants “will appeal,” the lawyer for one of them, Pavel Kosovan, told TASS. After the announcement, the British government expressed its concern and rejection. “We are deeply concerned.
We have repeatedly said that prisoners of war must not be exploited for political purposes,” said a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“According to the Geneva Convention, prisoners of war have immunity from combat and should not be prosecuted for their participation in hostilities,” he denounced. Downing Street.
According to TASS, Shaun Pinner and Brahim Saadun pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to the “mercenary” charges, but acknowledged their involvement in fighting “against the violent seizure of power.”
The two Britons surrendered in April in Mariupol, the port city in southern Ukraine that was captured by Russian forces after weeks of siege, the Interfax news agency said. Brahim surrendered in March in the eastern city of Volnovakha.
Aslin fought as a local
Aiden had plans for his future outside the military, but like all Ukrainians, his life was turned upside down by Putin’s barbaric invasion.
Aiden Aslin’s family had explained at the end of April that the latter had moved to Ukraine in 2018, where he met his girlfriend, with whom he decided to settle in Mikolaiv. He decided to enlist in the Ukrainian marines and served in this unit for almost four years.
“He is not, contrary to Kremlin propaganda, a volunteer, mercenary or spy,” his family said.
Shaun Pinner’s family had also explained that he was “neither a volunteer nor a mercenary, but is officially serving in the Ukrainian army under Ukrainian law.”
In recent weeks, pro-Russian officials had hinted that captured Ukrainian soldiers, especially those of the nationalist Azov regime, could be tried and risked death.
Since 1997, a moratorium on the death penalty has been in force in Russia, but this is not the case in the two breakaway territories in eastern Ukraine.
AFP
More world news
– Israeli government in crisis after losing key vote on settlements
– On video: activist interrupts Biden in full speech at the summit
– The current food crisis may be a catastrophe in 2023, according to the UN
#RussiaUkraine #war #today #foreign #military #sentenced #death