(London) The family of a Briton sentenced to death for fighting for Ukraine said they were devastated by the outcome of what they described as a “show trial”. She demanded on Saturday that he be released and that he benefit from the International Convention on Human Rights guaranteed to prisoners of war.
Posted at 11:49
A Ukrainian court in the separatist Donetsk People’s Republic sentenced two British fighters and a Moroccan on Thursday for targeting a violent overthrow of power. This offense carries the death penalty in the eastern territory controlled by Moscow-backed rebels.
The men were also convicted of mercenary activities and terrorism.
“Our whole family is devastated and saddened by the outcome of this illegal show trial,” said the family of one of the Britons, Shaun Pinner.
A statement issued by Britain’s Foreign Secretary on behalf of Mr Pinner’s family said the 48-year-old had resided in Ukraine for four years.
“We sincerely hope that all parties will urgently cooperate to ensure the safe release or exchange of Shaun. Our family, including his son and his Ukrainian wife, love and miss him so much. Our hearts go out to all the families involved in this terrible situation,” the statement read.
The family described Mr. Pinner as a proud “36e brigade,” a Ukrainian naval infantry division that helped defend the beleaguered port city of Mariupol before it was captured by Russian forces.
As a member of the brigade, Mr Pinner “should be granted all the rights of a prisoner of war under the Geneva Convention, including full independent legal representation”, the family argues.
Ukraine and the West have denounced the prosecutions in the unrecognized republic of Donetsk as a sham and a violation of the rules of war.
Pro-Russian separatists said on Saturday they were preparing to try a South Korean citizen who had fought on the side of Ukraine, but the man managed to escape. They said they still want to try him in South Korea, but it’s unclear how that could be possible.
Ukraine has called on foreigners to join their resistance to the Russian invasion. Some responded to this call, but not all were accepted into the Ukrainian Foreign Legion.
Czech Republic Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Saturday that a Czech citizen had died in Ukraine’s Donetsk region — the first reported Czech death among foreign volunteers.