POLITICO / USA
The three have one month to appeal and possibly receive a reduced sentence. Otherwise, they face death by firing squad.
KYIV — Kremlin-controlled authorities have sentenced to death two British citizens and a Moroccan national who all served in Ukraine’s military after a three-day show trial in which no evidence in their favor was presented.
British citizens Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, and Moroccan national Saadoun Brahim, were convicted of being foreign mercenaries and partaking in “terrorist” activities when captured by Russian forces — the Brits were captured in the southeastern city of Mariupol in April while Brahim was captured in March in Volnovakha, south of Donetsk.
A court sentenced them in the self-proclaimed “People’s Republic” of Donetsk, a territory of eastern Ukraine that Russia controls and is unrecognized by the international community. They have one month to appeal and possibly receive a reduced sentence, the court said. Otherwise, they face death by firing squad.
U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss wrote on Twitter: “I utterly condemn the sentencing of Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner held by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine. They are prisoners of war. This is a sham judgment with absolutely no legitimacy. My thoughts are with the families. We continue to do everything we can to support them.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson previously urged the Russian government to treat his countrymen “humanely and compassionately.”
The Moroccan foreign ministry has not commented on Brahim’s case.
Aslin, 28, Pinner, 48, and Brahim, 21, were active-duty troops serving regular contracts with the Ukrainian military; Aslin had recently re-upped his contract for a fourth year and had deep ties to the country. As regular soldiers, the men should be protected by the Geneva Conventions on prisoners of war.