Ukraine Seeks to Save 3 Foreign Soldiers from Death Penalty

KIEV – Ukraine did everything possible to save the three sentenced foreign nationals death sentence by proxy authority in Donbas for fighting for Ukraine. This was stated by a member of parliament on the Security and Defense committee of the Ukrainian Parliament, Saturday (11/6/2022).

After being arrested, two Britons and a Moroccan were convicted of “mercenary activities” on Thursday (9/6/2022) by a court in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), whose separatist leader is backed by Moscow.

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“The Ministry of Defense and the Main Directorate of Intelligence, which handles prisoner exchanges, are taking all necessary measures to ensure these foreign nationals are rescued,” lawmaker Fedir Venislavskyi said on national television.

Venislavskyi did not provide further details about the efforts to be made. Many consider it difficult to save 3 mercenaries named Brahim Saadoun (Morocco) and two Britons, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, given the ongoing war situation in the region.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said she believed the separatist authorities would eventually act rationally. “Because they are well aware of the irreparable implications for them and for Russia if they take the wrong step against these three of our soldiers,” he explained.

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“Something tells me that, in the end, one way or another, sooner or later, these three soldiers will be swapped (or returned),” he said in an online post on Saturday.

Britain itself has condemned the punishment for the mercenaries as a “grave violation” of the Geneva Conventions, under which prisoners of war are entitled to combatant immunity and should not be prosecuted for participating in hostilities.

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