UK's Aiden Aslin files plea against DPR court's death sentence over fighting for Ukraine

Aiden Aslin, a Briton who was sentenced to death by a court in the pro-Russia separatist region in eastern Ukraine, has launched an appeal against the verdict. He had received the sentence along with another UK national Shaun Pinner and a Moroccan Saaudun Brahim in a trial in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR),  a territory recognised only by Russia and Syria. Pinner and Brahim were previously reported to have filed an appeal against the verdict.   

The lawyer representing Aslin, Pavel Kosovan told the Russian news agency Interfax, “A cassation appeal against the verdict was filed today”.

All three foreign nationals were charged with “mercenary” activities and hence, were not protected under the Geneva conventions for prisoners of war by DPR authorities. Aslin, from Nottinghamshire, has previously told his family that his captors claimed there had been no attempt by UK officials to negotiate on his behalf, The Guardian stated. His family also revealed that Asli said he had been told that “time is running out” by his captors. 

Aslin was ‘extremely upset’ during call with family

Aslin’s grandmother Pamela Hall has already told BBC, “There are no words, just no words. It’s got to be everyone’s worst nightmare to have a member of your family threatened in this way. Aiden was extremely upset when he called his mother this morning. The bottom line is Aiden has said the DPR has told him nobody from the UK has made contact, and that he will be executed. I have to believe what Aiden has said to us, that if the DPR doesn't get some response, then they will execute him. Obviously, I hope that isn’t true.”

It is to mention that the sentencing of foreign nationals after being charged for “mercenary activities” triggered intensified criticism from the West against Russia as a show trial. The relatives of both Britons and the Moroccans have said that they were contracted to fight in the Ukrainian army and therefore, they should not be designated as mercenaries and should be protected under the Geneva Conventions for prisoners of war. 

Furthermore, TASS cited the DPR court as saying that the appeals would be considered within no more than two months. As per the report, Pinner has asked for his death sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment. It is pertinent to mention that according to an updated DPR criminal code published on an official website that took effect on Friday, the death penalty will start being used from 2025. However, it still remains unclear what it meant for the three men

Image: AP