In a Russian proxy court, five individuals, including three from the United Kingdom, denied being mercenaries fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against Russia.
In the alleged Donetsk People’s Republic, John Harding, Dylan Healy, and Andrew Hill were all brought before a judge
Russian media have reported that Mr. Harding, together with Swede Mathias Gustafsson and Croat Vjekoslav Prebeg, may be facing the death penalty.
International bodies do not recognise the court.
On Monday, five men were brought into court in a separatist region of Ukraine with their hands shackled and black bags over their heads.
The three individuals who face the death penalty were reportedly arrested in or around Mariupol, the Ukrainian port city that Russian forces conquered after months of unrelenting siege.
They’re accused of trying to “seize power by force” and acting as “mercenaries” in a war.
According to Russian media, the court has stated that the hearings for all five individuals will resume in early October.
The international community does not recognise the legitimacy of these proceedings and has refused to negotiate with the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
The Croatian Foreign Ministry has stated that it “dismisses the indictment and does not consider it to be established and valid.”
The British Foreign Office has repeatedly spoken out against the politicised use of civilian detainees.
Both Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin were given death sentences by the same court in June. The British captives were suspected of being mercenaries who were fighting on behalf of the Ukrainian government.
Their relatives argued that they had been in the Ukrainian military for many years and were not mercenaries.
International regulations safeguarding prisoners of war have been broken, thus the UK and Ukraine have spoken out against the penalties.
