Aiden Aslin, 28, a British-Ukrainian former care worker from Nottinghamshire who was a Ukrainian marine, was arrested by Russian forces in the besieged city of Mariupol in April. Ashlyn was arrested along with Briton Sean Pinner, 48, who was also sentenced to death for “mercenary activities” and “terrorism” by a court not recognized internationally. Both received their sentences, along with Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim, after a trial in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), a pro-Russian quasi-state. “Today an appeal was filed against the verdict,” his lawyer, Pavel Kosovan, told Russian news agency Interfax. Ashlin, originally from Newark in Nottinghamshire, has previously told his family that his captors claimed there had been no attempt by British officials to negotiate on his behalf. His family said they had spoken to him in a phone call, in which he said he was told “time is running out” by his captors. On Friday, the Tass news agency reported that the Russian-controlled territory’s highest court had received appeals from lawyers for Brahim and Piner. Aslin’s grandmother, Pamela Hall, previously told the BBC: “There are no words, there are just no words. It must be anyone’s worst nightmare to have a family member threatened like this. “Aiden was extremely upset when he called his mother this morning. The bottom line is that Aiden said that DPR told him that no one from the UK has been contacted and that he will be executed. “I have to believe what Aiden told us, that if the DPR doesn’t get an answer then they will execute him. Obviously, I hope it’s not true.” The Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, previously said: “I absolutely condemn the sentencing of Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner who are being held by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine.” “They are prisoners of war. This is a sham judgment with absolutely no legitimacy… my thoughts are with the families. We continue to do everything we can to support them.” Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Last month, Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, suggested they could be freed in a prisoner swap with Russia. “The important question is what will be the price for this, because the Russians have been talking about exchanging some Ukrainian MPs for them, especially those who, I now understand, have been working for them all these years,” he told BBC News. . The Foreign Office has been approached for comment.
