A Briton sentenced to death by a Russian proxy for battles in Ukraine has said the execution will take place, his family said.
Aidan Aslin, 28, and Sean Piner, 48, have been convicted of “terrorism” by a court not internationally recognized earlier this month in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).
The former caretaker, a native of Newark in Nottinghamshire, told his family that his captors claimed that there was no experience of UK officials negotiating on his behalf. His family said they spoke to him on a phone call in which he said his captors had told him “time is running out.”
Aslin’s grandmother, Pamela Hall, told the BBC: “No words, just no words. It is probably the worst nightmare for anyone to have a family member threatened in this way.
Aiden was extremely upset when he called his mother this morning. The bottom line is that Aiden said the DNR told him that no one in the UK had made contact and that he would be executed.
“I have to believe what Aiden told us that if the DNR doesn’t get an answer, they will execute him. Obviously, I hope that’s not true. “
Foreign Minister Liz Trus discussed Aslin’s case with Ukrainian officials about two weeks ago and spoke of “efforts to secure the release of prisoners of war held by Russian officials” with Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba. Trus called the death sentences “a false sentence with absolutely no legitimacy.”
It is known that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is investigating cases of British citizens who were detained in Ukraine and is supporting the families of Aslin and Piner from Bedfordshire. The two Britons and the Moroccan man reportedly Saudun Brahim were captured in April while fighting in the Ukrainian army in the city of Mariupol.
The men are believed to be the first Ukrainian soldiers to be tried by pro-Russian forces. The two moved to Ukraine in 2018 and had served as part of Ukraine’s armed forces for several years before the Russian invasion.
They both have Ukrainian partners and have made the country their home. Aslin settled in the southern city of Nikolaev and received Ukrainian citizenship, which he holds along with his British citizenship.
The Russian commissioner claims that the two are “mercenaries”, accusing them of being sent to fight in a foreign conflict over money.
They are accused of crimes, including forcible seizure of power and training to carry out terrorist activities, according to Russia’s RIA Novosti.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky recently told British students that what Russia is doing to the British couple is a “tragic habit” and “there can be no excuse for such actions.”
The UK government has said they should be treated as prisoners of war under the laws set out in the Geneva Conventions.
Ukraine has convicted at least three Russian soldiers of war crimes related to the February 24 invasion.
Sources from the UK government have suggested to the BBC that the ministers are reluctant to negotiate directly with Moscow because it could fuel the false Russian story that men are mercenaries.
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