Denis Pushilin, leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic. Figure: Extracted from Wikipedia (data photo)
Russia has repeatedly bombed homes and massacred civilians during the three-month period of its aggression against Ukraine, causing massive casualties and sparking global outrage. However, two Britons and a Moroccan were sentenced to death by the court of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” (Donetsk People’s Republic) in the eastern Ukrainian breakaway region for joining the Ukrainian army to fight. A pro-Russian breakaway leader 12 Japan said he would not change the death sentences for these individuals.
Several Russian news agencies reported that a court set up by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine sentenced to death two Britons and a Moroccan who were captured while fighting for Ukraine. The Donetsk People’s Republic court found British Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner and Moroccan Brahim Saadoun guilty, Interfax reported, citing court officials.
The three were charged with participating in “mercenary activities and taking actions to seize power and subvert the constitutional order of the Donetsk People’s Republic”. The Donetsk People’s Republic is one of two self-declared independent regions of eastern Ukraine. Three men fighting for Ukraine were arrested during a confrontation with Russian and pro-Russian forces after Russia sent troops to invade Ukraine on February 24. Lawyers say they will appeal.
“They came to Ukraine to kill civilians for money,” Denis Pushilin, the pro-Russian leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic, told reporters, according to Agence France-Presse. “That’s why I don’t think there are any conditions for mitigating or modifying the sentence. “He stressed that the court had already given the three fighters a “completely fair punishment”. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss condemned the verdict in a tweet, saying: “This trial is a hoax and totally illegitimate.”
Court images released by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti showed that during the trial, the three were held behind a black fence, guarded by soldiers who were masked and wore armbands with the pro-Russian Z symbol. The three were then asked to stand and the verdict was read out by the court. The trials they faced were rushed and mostly behind closed doors. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that under the Geneva Convention, prisoners of war should not be prosecuted for taking part in combat.