Vladimir Putin’s thugs are ‘preparing an execution site’ for British couple captured near Mariupol and labeled ‘mercenaries’ after joining Ukrainian army
- British Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner were captured by Moscow troops in April
- Pro-Russian DPR officials said they are ‘preparing a place for their execution’
- The chilling statement said the British would be killed by firing squad, without prior warning. The date of their executions will not be released in advance
Separatist forces in eastern Ukraine have accelerated plans to execute two Britons.
Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, who had joined the Ukrainian army, were captured near Moscow by Moscow’s troops Mariupol in April.
Their predicament worsened last night when pro-Russian officials in the Donetsk People’s Republic said they were “preparing a place for their execution.”
The chilling statement said the British would be killed by firing squad, without prior warning. The date of their execution will not be announced in advance.
DPR spokesman Denys Pushilin added: “Everything is ready. It won’t be public.’
A member of the Russian parliament also mocked the British, saying they would be killed with British guns and bullets and their families would be billed.
Aiden Aslin (right) and Shaun Pinner (left), who had joined the Ukrainian army, were captured by Moscow troops near Mariupol in April.
The sickening statements came a day after the DPR reintroduced the death penalty as punishment for the most serious crimes.
It said the death penalty served as a “deterrent against committing heinous crimes, in particular crimes against the peace and security of humanity.”
Mr Aslin, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, and Mr Pinner, from Watford, were recently found guilty of ‘mercenaries’ at trial.
The allegations are false because the couple, and a Moroccan colleague Brahim Saadoun, 21, belonged to Ukrainian military units. Therefore, under international law, they have the right to protection during their detention.
Mr. Aslin and Mr. Pinner also had joint British-Ukrainian citizenships and had spent many years in the country.
Before then, Mr Aslin, 28, was a Grenadier Guardsman, while Mr Pinner, 48, was in the Royal Anglian Regiment.
An added complication is that Britain does not recognize the DPR because the Moscow-backed breakaway republic was established in Ukraine.
The execution threats could be a Russian ploy to force the UK to establish diplomatic relations with the region.
Pictured: Mr Aslin, 28, of Newark in Nottinghamshire. He had joint British-Ukrainian citizenship and was a Grenadier Guardsman. He fought with Ukrainian troops when he was captured
Mr Pinner, 48, was in the Royal Anglian Regiment. He also holds British-Ukrainian citizenship and has spent many years in the country
Mr Pushilin explained that a court considered the three men’s appeals on July 4. But after the legal process is completed, “their cases will be handed over to the executive office for execution, by firing squad,” he said.
Under Russian law, mercenaries are not given the same privileges as ordinary combatants, whose welfare must be taken into account according to the Geneva Convention.
The families of Mr. Aslin and Mr. Pinner have begged the State Department to intervene on their behalf.
Their best hope is that they are released as part of a prisoner swap.
Two other Britons, Dylan Healy, 22, and Andrew Hill, 35, are also in custody in Donetsk.
Meanwhile, Ukraine and Russia were in dispute yesterday over grain exports from the war zone that are being blocked by the Kremlin.
The Istanbul talks were the first face-to-face meetings between officials from both sides in many months.
A resumption of grain exports would give a major boost to Ukraine’s economy.