Two more Brits face Putin death penalty
UK aid worker and volunteer accused of ‘mercenary’ acts
It’s a sham aimed at exerting diplomatic pressure KRSYTAN BENEDICT AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
BY and
TWO more Britons could face death sentences after being captured in Ukraine and accused of “mercenary activities”.
Aid worker Dylan Healy, 22, who was not involved in any fighting, and military volunteer Andrew Hill, 35, face trial in Russian rebel-held Donetsk in a move branded a “sham” by rights groups.
They face the same charges as British fighters
Aiden Aslin, 28, and
Shaun Pinner, 48, who have both been sentenced to death by firing quad.
But hotel chef Dylan, of Cambridgeshire, was only in Ukraine to help evacuate desperate civilians.
He was captured, along with fellow British aid worker Paul Urey, in April while trying to save a mum and two children from advancing Russian forces.
According to non-profit
Presidium Network, which first learned of their capture, the mum’s home was stormed by Russian soldiers.
They reportedly made her husband lie on the floor and asked her “how she knew these British spies”. Mr Urey’s whereabouts are still unknown.
In response to reports aired on Russian state media, the Foreign Office said: “We condemn the exploitation of prisoners of war and civilians for political purposes and have raised this with Russia.”
Amnesty International branded the chance of a fair trial “vanishingly small”. Its crisis response manager,
Kristyan Benedict, added: “This is a sham process designed to exert diplomatic pressure on the UK.
“In exploiting their capture of Dylan and Andrew, Russia and its proxies... are adding to a huge catalogue of war crimes.” Experts fear the charges against the Britons are a Kremlin response to the further £1billion in military aid for Ukraine announced by the UK this week.
After NATO talks, it was also revealed US nuclear weapons could be heading back to Britain.
Meanwhile Aiden’s partner is urging the Government to prosecute expat pro-Putin “journalist” Graham Phillips, who interviewed bruised Aiden in captivity for Russian TV.
Diana Okovyta branded the interview “a war crime”. She added: “I would take great pleasure in spitting in his face. But I would make do with bringing him to justice instead.”
Relatives of Aiden and Shaun have also been targeted by sick Russian scammers offering to reunite them with their loved ones for cash.
But the Russians are turning on their own people, too. Ice hockey star Ivan Fedotov, 25 – who had just
signed a contract with US team Philadelphia Fliers – has been branded a “draft dodger”, rounded up by police and forced to join the Russian army.
Pictures show him being taken away from an enlistment office in an ambulance.
jack.clover@reachplc.com