Britain’s Eden Ashlin said the death sentence would be carried out, the family said

by

A British man has been sentenced to death by a court in a pro-Russian separatist republic for fighting in Ukraine he was told the execution would continue, his family said.

A court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine earlier this month sentenced two British prisoners, Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, to death for fighting on Ukraine’s side.

Now Aslin’s family said they had spoken to him on the phone, in which he said his captors had told him “time is running out”. BBC References.
Captive British citizen Aiden Aslin was informed by his captors in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic that his execution would take place after he was sentenced to death for fighting with Ukrainian forces. (AP)

Aslin, from Nottinghamshire in central England, told relatives that DPR officials also told him that British authorities had made no attempt to negotiate his release.

His grandmother, Pamela Hall, said Ashlin’s arrest was a “nightmare” for his family who spoke to him on Wednesday (UK time).

“There are no words, there are simply no words. It must be everyone’s worst nightmare to threaten a family member this way,” Hall said.

“Eden was extremely upset when he called his mother this morning. The bottom line is that Aiden said the DRC told him that no one from the UK had contacted him and that he would be executed.

“I have to believe what Aiden told us, that if the DPR does not get an answer, then they will execute him. Obviously I hope that is not true.”

Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported earlier that Ashlyn, Piner and a Moroccan citizen arrested while fighting for Ukraine, Brahim Saadoun, would face firing squad. They had a month to appeal.

Two British nationals, Aiden Aslin, left, and Shaun Pinner, right, and Moroccan Saaudun Brahim, centrist, were sentenced to death by pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine for fighting on Ukraine's side.
Two British nationals, Aiden Aslin, left, and Shaun Pinner, right, and Moroccan Saaudun Brahim, centrist, were sentenced to death by pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine for fighting on Ukraine’s side. (AP)

The separatist side claimed that the three were “mercenaries” who were not entitled to the usual protection provided to prisoners of war.

Read Also  In the Philippines, a bun revives myths and misery of a bygone era | Philippines

They are the first foreign fighters to be convicted by Russian-backed Ukrainian rebels.

British Foreign Secretary Luz Trouse has called the verdict a “false decision with absolutely no legitimacy”.

The spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Jamie Davis, said that under the Geneva Conventions, prisoners of war were entitled to immunity as fighters.

The families of Aslin and Piner said the two men were longtime members of the Ukrainian army.

Both are said to have lived in Ukraine since 2018.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Tras said the trial of arrested Britons Aiden Aslin and Sean Piner in a Russian court of attorney was a fraud. (Nine)

The three men fought alongside Ukrainian troops before Pinner and Aslin surrendered to pro-Russian forces in the southern port city of Mariupol in mid-April and Saadoun was captured in mid-March in the eastern city of Volnovakha.

Another British fighter captured by pro-Russian forces, Andrew Hill, is awaiting trial.

Evacuee says goodbye to his dog emotionally

The Russian military has argued that foreign mercenaries fighting on the Ukrainian side are not fighters and will have to face long prison sentences, at best if arrested.

Leave a Comment

error: Content is protected !!