The DPR is a pro-Russian region in eastern Ukraine that is not recognized internationally. The UK Foreign Office condemned the “exploitation” of prisoners for political purposes and said it had raised the issue with the Russian government. “We are in constant contact with the government of Ukraine about their cases and fully support Ukraine in its efforts to release them,” a spokesman added. On June 9, Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, along with Moroccan national Brahim Saadoune, were sentenced to death after being found guilty of being “mercenaries” for Ukraine by a court in the DRC, Russian state media reported at the time. DPR officials said the men were foreign fighters captured by Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in April. Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti, reported that Piner, Ashlin and Saadun will be shot dead and have until July 9 to file an appeal. Acting on behalf of her client, Pinner’s lawyer, Yulia Tserkovnikova, said on Friday that she would appeal for clemency and clemency on humanitarian grounds to stop the execution. But Cherkovnikova said she would not challenge the guilty verdict handed down by the court. “We will appeal to humanity, as my client’s guilt has been fully proven by the court. To say that the complaint will be based on any proof of innocence, it is not necessary,” Tserkovnikova was quoted as saying by the Donetsk News Agency. . On Thursday the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg granted “provisional measures” to Pinner and Aslin, calling on the Russian Federation to ensure that the death penalty is not carried out. Interim measures are granted in connection with legal proceedings when there is an “imminent risk of irreparable harm”, according to the ECHR. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian Federation was no longer complying with the ECHR’s directives and suggested the court should contact the DPR directly.
