Britons sentenced to death after 'show trial' in Russian-occupied Ukraine

[Eugene]

Last edited Thu Jun 9, 2022, 11:28 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: The Guardian

Britons sentenced to death after ‘show trial’ in Russian-occupied Ukraine

Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner were captured while fighting in Ukrainian army

Andrew Roth
Thu 9 Jun 2022 15.01 BST
Last modified on Thu 9 Jun 2022 15.02 BST

Pro-Russian officials have sentenced to death two British men and a Moroccan national captured while fighting in the Ukrainian army in Mariupol, Russian state media has said.

A court in Russian-controlled east Ukraine convicted Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner after a days-long process that observers have called a “show trial” on “trumped-up charges” meant to imitate war crimes trials against Russian soldiers in Kyiv.

Aslin, 28, from Newark, and Pinner, 48, from Watford, were convicted by the court in Russian-controlled territory in Donetsk alongside Saaudun Brahim on charges of “terrorism”.

Both Britons have said they were serving in the Ukrainian marines, making them active-duty soldiers who should be protected by the Geneva conventions on prisoners of war. However, the Russian state media has portrayed the men as mercenaries, and the court has convicted them on the charge of “being a mercenary”.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/09/britons-sentenced-to-death-russian-occupied-ukraine-aiden-aslin-shaun-pinner

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Related: 3 sentenced to death for fighting on Ukraine’s side (Associated Press)

[rso]

1. Mercenaries

Very unwise move by Russia, as this will only increase the UK's resolve to provide even better weapons to Ukraine. It's extremely unlikely that these men will be executed, the foolish russians are simply trying to bully the UK to compromise, but it will have the opposite effect.

[Karadeniz]

2. I wish most Americans see that this is our future under the GOP....

[Gore1FL]

3. They are simply encouraging people to fight to the death against them. nt