The three captured fighters – Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner and Saaudun Brahim – were found guilty of working to overthrow the government, a crime punishable by death in the court of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. All three were also convicted of mercenary activities and terrorism. Pro-Russian officials in the breakaway region claimed that the men’s actions “led to civilian deaths and injuries, as well as damage to civil and social infrastructure”. Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported that the convicted detainees would face an executive order. They have one month to appeal the sentences, which could be commuted to 25 years in prison. Moscow-backed separatists have claimed that the foreign fighters were “mercenaries” who were not entitled to the usual protection afforded to prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. Relatives of Aslin and Piner claimed that the men, who are both British, are said to have lived in Ukraine since 2018, have long been members of the Ukrainian army and served in the Marines. Aslin is also said to have Ukrainian citizenship. British nationals Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and Moroccan Brahim Saadoun were sentenced to death in a trial referred to as demonstration. Through REUTERSA, the photo of a bloody Aiden Aslin went viral, shedding light on his treatment by the Russian army. Aslin was found guilty of working to overthrow the government.Twitter / @cossackgundi British Foreign Secretary Luz Trouse has condemned the ruling as a “false decision with absolutely no legitimacy”. The spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Jamie Davis, said that under the Geneva Conventions, captured soldiers were entitled to immunity as fighters. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko called the trial “legally invalid” and said: “Such spectacular trials put the interests of propaganda above law and morality.” The three men fought alongside Ukrainian troops. Pinner, 48, and Aslin, 28, surrendered to enemy forces in the southern port city of Mariupol in mid-April, while Brahim did so in mid-March in the eastern city of Volnovakha. Ashlyn and Piner later paraded on Russian television, with the former appearing bloodied and injured. Citizens of the United Kingdom have demanded the release of a detained Ukrainian ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Shaun Pinner will face death in an executive order, a decision the British government has condemned. social media / e2w Both the Ukrainian government and the British government have declared the trials illegal. via REUTERS A photo taken of Aslin in a courtroom cage on Wednesday showed the 28-year-old appearing pale and thin, with dark circles under his eyes and a scar in the middle of his forehead. The Russian military has argued that foreign mercenaries fighting on the Ukrainian side are not fighters and will have to wait a long prison sentence, at best if arrested. Another British fighter captured by pro-Russian forces, Andrew Hill, is awaiting trial. With ropes
