The pair were in the dock alongside a Moroccan man, Saaudun Brahim, in the supreme court of the self-declared People’s Republic of Donetsk.
Russian separatists on Thursday sentenced two British fighters to death for joining the Ukrainian army in the fight against invading Russian troops in Ukraine have been sentenced to death.
The two soldiers; Brits Shaun Pinner, 48, and Aiden Aslin, 28, were sentenced to death by firing squad after they were captured in April while fighting for Ukrainian forces against Russian invaders at siege of Mariupol.
The pair were in the dock alongside a Moroccan man, Saaudun Brahim, in the supreme court of the self-declared People’s Republic of Donetsk.
The British men and Moroccan national Brahim Saadoun who reportedly had been a student studying in Kyiv, before he was also detained in April, were accused by Russia and Kremlin-backed Donetsk separatists of being “mercenaries” and charged with “terrorism”.
All three defendants were forced to plead guilty to the charges in front of TV cameras yesterday.
The defendants are the “first foreign mercenaries convicted in the Donetsk People’s Republic,” the Donetsk news agency claimed.
Judge Alexander Nikulin said the verdict “was guided not only by the prescribed norms and rules, but also by the most important, unshakable principle of justice.”
According to Daily Mail, they appeared behind a metal cage at a court in territory occupied by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine as the verdict was read out today.
Ex-British Army soldier Pinner stared at the ground and appeared distraught and close to tears, while former care worker Aslin remained composed. A third man, Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim, was convicted alongside them.
The pair were captured by Russian forces after becoming surrounded in the port city of Mariupol in April. They have since been paraded in various videos with visible injuries and appeared to read from scripts.
Meanwhile, MP Robert Jenrick said, “This disgusting Soviet-era style show trial is the latest reminder of the depravity of Putin's regime.”
The Russian leader was on Thursday pictured meeting young entrepreneurs in Moscow as the barbaric sentencing unfolded.
The three men said they will appeal the decision. The court in the DPR, one of two self-proclaimed break-away states in Ukraine's eastern Donbas, is not internationally recognised.
The devastated family of Aslin today demanded he is 'treated with respect' as it was revealed his mother Ang Wood only found out about the verdict while watching television.
In a statement, the family said, “We've heard the news from Donetsk and need some time to take everything in. We love Aiden with all our hearts. He and Shaun, as members of Ukrainian armed forces, should be treated with respect just like any other prisoners of war. They are not, and never were, mercenaries.
“The Supreme Court of the DPR passed the first sentence on mercenaries - the British Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and the Moroccan Saadun Brahim were sentenced to death, RIA Novosti correspondent reports from the courtroom,” RIA said on the Telegram messaging app.
Judge Alexander Nikulin said, “The aggregated penalty for the crimes [means] the sentence Aiden Aslin to an exceptional measure of punishment, the death penalty.
“The aggregated penalty for the crimes [means] the sentence [of] Shaun Pinner to an exceptional measure of punishment, the death penalty.”