British Soldiers Must be Freed Without Delay, UK Foreign Minister Demands Russia
British soldiers Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner were sentenced to death by the Russian Government in east Ukraine for fighting for the Ukrainian army.
Two British men sentenced to death after fighting for Ukraine against Russia must be released and returned the home ‘without delay’, a United Kingdom foreign minister has demanded.
The pair’s ‘so-called trial’ had ‘no legitimacy’, junior foreign minister Lord Ahmad told the House of Lords, where he was pressed over the plight of the two men.
Aiden Aslin, 28 and Shaun Pinner, 48, have been treated as foreign ‘mercenaries’ by pro-Russian authorities in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) one of two breakaway Russian puppet states in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
They handed down the death sentences to the two Britons and one Moroccan man for fighting for Ukraine.
Mr Aslin and Mr Pinner were both living in Ukraine before the invasion and the UK Government has insisted that, as legitimate members of the Ukrainian armed forces, they should be treated as prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention.
Responding to a question at Westminster, Lord Ahmad said: “The Government condemns the sentencing
of two British nationals, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, held by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine.
“Both are soldiers in the Ukrainian armed forces and therefore prisoners of war, entitled to protection under international humanitarian law (IHL).
‘The so-called trial in the non-government controlled area of Ukraine has no legitimacy and the United Kingdom is fully supportive of the government of Ukraine in its effort to get them released.’
The Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Rev Alan Smith, who raised the issue in the Lords, said: ‘What discussions are taking place with our European and American partners to say to Russia that if these executions go ahead there will be serious repercussions?
“lso what guidance is being given to the estimated 3000 UK nationals who are now fighting, many of whom haven’t joined the official army and therefore don’t come under the Geneva Convention, who are putting themselves at huge risk should they be caught?”
Lord Ahmad said: “The advice of the British Government has been very, very clear: ‘Do not travel to Ukraine”.
He added that interms of working with other allies and partners,they were working very constructively with Ukraine.
“The detainees are very much part and parcel of the engagement Ukrainians are having with the Russians directly. We are very supportive of those efforts”.