Two Britons and a Moroccan caught fighting for Ukraine were sentenced to death by a court today in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) of eastern Ukraine aligned with Russia, news agencies reported.
The court found the three men—British Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and Moroccan Brahim Saadoun—convicted of “mercenary activities and acts aimed at seizing power and disrupting the constitutional order of the DPR,” according to a court clerk at Interfax news agency.
The three men were caught fighting for Ukraine against Russian and Russian-backed forces after the Russian invasion on February 24. His lawyer said they would appeal the decision.
Less than 24 hours before the verdict was announced, Pinner and Saadoun were found guilty of acts aimed at violently seizing power. Aslin admitted to a lighter charge regarding weapons and explosives.
“The evidence presented by the prosecution in this case allowed the court to make a guilty verdict, not to mention the fact that all the defendants without exception admitted all charges,” Judge Alexander Nikulin told reporters at the courthouse.
“In making its decision, the court was guided not only by the prescribed norms and rules, but also by the most important and unshakable principle of justice. It was he who made it possible to take this complex and difficult decision to impose an extraordinary measure, punishable in the form of capital punishment,” he added.
Britain said it was deeply concerned.
“We have repeatedly said that prisoners of war should not be exploited for political ends,” said a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Johnson’s spokesman said that under the Geneva Conventions, prisoners of war are entitled to immunity from combat and should not be prosecuted for participating in hostilities.
British citizens Aslin and Pinner were captured by Russian-backed forces in Mariupol in April during a fierce struggle for control of the city.
The Moroccan Saadoun surrendered in March while fighting in a small town between Mariupol and the regional capital, Donetsk.
During the process, the three men were held in a black bar cage, covered by soldiers, wearing armbands with their faces covered and pro-war Z symbols, and asked to stand up as the verdict was read. Image of the courtroom published by the RIA Novosti news agency.
The rushed trial was largely held behind closed doors, and information about the cases was handed over to Russia’s elite state-run media outlets.
The Donetsk People’s Republic is one of two Russian-backed separatist formations in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, which Russia says is fighting to “liberate” Ukrainian forces.
source: Noticias
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