According to TASS reports, the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, said that he did not see any reason to pardon foreign citizens previously sentenced to death by the DPR court.
“First of all, the court decision should guide me. “Due to the nature of these articles, these crimes, I see no justification or precondition for me to issue such an amnesty,” he said.
Last Thursday, a DPR court found British nationals Sean Pinner and Aiden Aslin, as well as Moroccan Saadoun Brahim, guilty of participating in hostilities as part of Ukrainian armed groups as mercenaries.
The DPR Chief Prosecutor’s Office reported that Pinner, Aslin and Brahim were involved in the commission of crimes under Part 2 of Art. 34 of the DPR Criminal Code (“Committing a crime by a group of people”), art. 323 of the Criminal Code of the DPR (“The seizure of power or the forced retention of power”) and Art. 430 of the DPR Criminal Code (“Mercenary”).
After the decision was announced, the head of the judiciary board said that convicts have the right to amnesty. They can also appeal the decision within one month.
The defendants partly pleaded guilty – but refused to convict themselves under Article 430 “Mercenary”.
Pavel Kosovan, one of the convicts’ lawyers, told TASS that their clients can apply to the head of the DPR for a pardon. According to the lawyer, the law does not provide for a lighter penalty, for example life or 25 years imprisonment, in lieu of the sentence.
On his own initiative, the head of the republic can only issue an additional decree. “Either he will show mercy or he will not,” Kosovan said.
reaction in England
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss condemned the death penalty for British nationals in the DPR, calling it illegitimate.
“I strongly condemn the punishment of Aiden Aslin and Sean Pinner. <…> They are prisoners of war. This is a false decision with absolutely no legitimacy. My thoughts are with their families. We continue to do everything we can to support them,” Truss said on Twitter.
Pinner, Eslin and Brahim surrendered in Mariupol in mid-April. The British turned to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson with a request to replace them with Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk. After that, the politician’s wife, Oksana Marchenko, asked relatives of Eslin and Pinner to contact Johnson with a request to organize a prisoner of war exchange for her husband. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Medvedchuk’s exchange for POWs is unlikely.
At the same time, the Sunday Express newspaper writes that the Ukrainian authorities accepted the possibility of exchanging politician Viktor Medvedchuk for two British citizens.
“Their situation was discussed this week with (UK) Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss. We cooperate. “We want to show our gratitude to the UK and will definitely consider the exchange with Medvedchuk,” said a source close to the authorities in Kiev.
According to him, such a possibility should be discussed with the Russian Federation, but agreement from the Kremlin is unlikely, since Medvedchuk is no longer as “important in this context” as they think under the Ukrainian President’s administration. Volodymyr Zelensky.
In addition, an article was published in the June 12 British edition of Sunday People, in which “British mercenaries outraged by the death penalty of their comrades” announced their intention to return to the front.
“Peter Fauci, who fought in Ukraine for three months, believes that anger at the decision will encourage other Britons to join the war. Anger will increase the chances of attracting more foreigners to join the fighting in eastern Ukraine. Nobody wants to see two British soldiers killed. We need to reinforce troops here. “It doesn’t stop us. We’re full of energy,” she says in the interview.
The army plans to return to the front in a few days. “I fight for freedom, democracy and people’s right to live without fear,” said Peter Fauci.
Macer Gifford, another British volunteer who befriended one of the prisoners, Aiden Aslin, supported the British government’s calls to secure their release.
He said: “They need to take this incredibly seriously. “This is an insult to our country,” he said.
The fate of the Moroccans
Moroccan national Saadoun Brahim is 21 years old. It is not yet known whether Moroccan authorities have made any statements regarding the death penalty for their citizens.
According to Brahim’s lawyer, Elena Vesnina, the man, who had an argument with his father at home, came to Ukraine to study and changed several universities in Kiev. Previously, he did not take part in hostilities, but was recruited during training.
“Just a young idiot. It seems that he was boring in his Morocco. He says he quarreled with his family, especially with his father. I wanted to prove something. Then one of the British simply verbalized him,” the lawyer told SHOT Telegram channel.
Is it possible to object
Lawyer, member of the Moscow Chamber of Lawyers Artur Airapetov had previously stated “Lente.ru”Convicted British and Moroccans may appeal the decision in person.
“If we are talking about the appeal, every defendant, even those sentenced to death, has this right, but he uses this right on his own behalf or through his lawyers, but not on his behalf. [британского премьера] “The lawyer, Boris Johnson, or any other foreign official or government,” he said.
At the same time, according to the expert, the authorities of Great Britain and Morocco will have to recognize the decision of the DPR court to try to save their citizens through an exchange.
“If you want to help your citizens and offer swaps to the DPR, you somehow agree with this decision and the fact that the issue of DPR is not just on paper,” he said.
According to Airapetov, the recognition or non-recognition of this sentence by some states is not important for DPR law.