Russia’s foreign minister has said three British and Moroccan men sentenced to the death penalty in the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) are guilty of committing crimes.
Sergei Lavrov’s comments came after a pro-Russian separatist court handed down the punishments to the UK nationals Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and the Moroccan national Brahim Saadoun on Thursday.
All three men fought in the Ukrainian army and were captured by Russian-aligned forces in April. They were accused of being “mercenaries”, a charge which carries the death penalty in the DPR, whose authority is not recognised by any UN country except Russia.
The move sparked condemnation, with British politicians blaming Moscow for what they called a “show trial”.
Following these accusations, Mr Lavrov said: “At the moment, the trials you mentioned are being held on the basis of the legislation of the Donetsk People’s Republic, because the crimes in question were committed on the DPR’s territory.”
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, described Britain’s reaction to the sentencing of the two men as “hysterical”.
Speaking after the verdict was delivered, Mr Aslin, 28, said he had hoped the sentence would be “a lot fairer”.
“I wish it could be different but God will be the one that will judge me when the time comes,” he added.
Robert Jenrick, a Tory MP and former minister, condemned the treatment of Mr Aslin and Mr Pinner, saying they should be returned to Ukraine “at the earliest opportunity”.
“This is a completely outrageous situation. These are not mercenaries. They’re British citizens, who, for personal reasons, were living in Ukraine before Vladimir Putin’s invasion,” he told BBC Breakfast on Friday.
Meanwhile, the British foreign secretary Liz Truss called the verdict a “sham judgement”, which has “absolutely no legitimacy”.
Another minister, Robin Walker, added that Russia must “take responsibility…under the Geneva Convention” for the treatment of prisoners of war.
Reports suggest that Russia wants to use the death sentences to leverage a prisoner swap.
This assessment follows video appearances by Mr Aslin and Mr Pinner on Russian state TV earlier in their detention. In the clips, they ask to be exchanged for the pro-Kremlin politician Viktor Medvedchuk.
