Two British men and a Moroccan man held by Russian forces in Ukraine have been sentenced to death, Russian state-media has reported.
Shaun Pinner, 48, and Aiden Aslin, 28 – along with Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim – were all captured while fighting in Ukraine.
The supreme court of the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) issued death sentences on Thursday, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reported.
The three men said they will appeal the decision, rRussian News Agency Tass reported.
Shaun Pinner, 48, and Aiden Aslin, 28 – along with Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim – were all captured while fighting in Ukraine. Pictured: The three are seen in footage
Aslin and Pinner were detained in April while fighting in Ukraine, before reportedly appearing in court in the separatist Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) on Wednesday.
They are said to have admitted ‘training in order to carry out terrorist activities’.
In footage shared by Ria Novosti on social media on Wednesday, a translator can be heard asking Mr Aslin if he would ‘plead guilty’ to an offence, to which he replied: ‘Yes.’
Ria Novosti reported yesterday that the charge carries a term of 15 to 20 years’ imprisonment with restriction of freedom for a term of one to two years or life imprisonment.
The video appeared to show the two Britons in the dock in the pro-Russian territory’s supreme court alongside a third man, reported to be Mr Brahim.