September 21, 2022
photo released, Family / SWNS
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Andrew Hill and Dylan Healy are among the released British detainees
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British Prime Minister Liz Truss confirmed the release of five British citizens, among 10 people held by Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine.
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In a statement he said this would put an end to “months of uncertainty and suffering for them and their families”.
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He thanked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Saudi Arabia for their assistance in securing the release of the detainees.
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“Russia must end the cruel exploitation of prisoners of war and civilian detainees for political purposes,” he added.
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The Saudi government said Russia released the 10 following the mediation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
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The group is believed to include US, British, Swedish, Croatian and Moroccan citizens who were released under a prisoner exchange agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
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A statement from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs states: “The concerned Saudi authorities have received and transferred them from Russia to the Kingdom and are working to facilitate procedures for their safe return to their countries.”
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The Saudi statement did not say whether Ukraine had released the Russian prisoners in exchange.
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The Saudi news agency has released photos and a video clip of the released people arriving in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
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For its part, the British Foreign Office said it could not comment on the Saudi statement.
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Among those freed was Moroccan citizen Ibrahim Saadoun, who was tried along with two Britons, Aiden Aslin and Sean Benner, and an internationally unrecognized court in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic sentenced them to death.
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The 21-year-old’s family says he was studying in Ukraine before joining the fight for Mariupol.
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The human rights organization Amnesty International released a brief statement after the 10 detainees were released.
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Alan Hogarth, an official of the organization, described the exchange as a “great relief” and said their imprisonment was “a bogus judicial process ostensibly designed to exert diplomatic pressure on the UK”.
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photo released, Reuters
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Among those released was a Moroccan citizen who was tried, along with two Britons, in a pro forma court in eastern Ukraine, which sentenced them to death.
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He told the Press Association that the separatist authorities in Donetsk – where the 10 were sentenced – and their counterparts in Russia are believed to be “still illegally holding thousands of other detainees amid horrific torture reports.”
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“We demand that you release all detainees immediately,” he added.
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Since the beginning of the conflict, numerous exchanges have taken place, the largest of which so far was the agreement that took place last July and which provided for the release of 144 people.
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Although prisoner exchanges are the norm in wars, states may be reluctant to announce any concessions they make to conclude such deals.
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