An internationally unrecognised republic is preparing to execute two captured Britons. Aiden Aslin, 28, of Newark and Shaun Pinner, 48, of Watford were captured in April whilst fighting for Ukraine against the Russian invasion in Mariupol.
The pair were sentenced to death in June by firing squad by the Donetsk People's Republic for fighting as mercenaries, but they were both fighting under the Ukrainian army and had lived in Ukraine before the war begun. Moroccan national, Saadoun Brahim, was also sentenced to death with the pair.
Aiden Aslin's lawyer, Pavel Kosovan, filed an appeal against the sentence on Monday, July 4, and it has been reported that the other two men have also launched appeals. However, a statement from officials in the breakaway region of Ukraine reportedly said that the separatists are now "preparing a place for their execution" reports The Daily Mirror.
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DPR spokesman Denys Pushilin said: "Everything is ready. It won’t be public." A protest for the release of Aiden and the other prisoners took place in Old Market Square, Nottingham on Sunday, June 26, as people showed their support for the men who they believe are entitled to the protection of the Geneva Convention.
The Russian state-run news agency, TASS, has reported that Pushilin said: "All the foreigners filed appeals, we are awaiting a court session. If the court finds this punitive measure and the sentence to be appropriate, then their cases will be handed over to the corresponding agency to carry out the verdict.
"[Capital punishment in the DPR] stipulates execution by firing squad. It’s not public." Pushilin has told TASS that: "The DPR has received no official inquiries from the United Kingdom and Morocco as of now."
Aiden's appeal against the sentence is still pending.
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