Foreign fighters go on trial in Russian-backed separatist ‘court’

Foreign fighters from Britain and Morocco who joined the war in Ukraine against Russia have gone on trial this week, according to Russian media.

Two British men, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, as well as a Moroccan identified as Brahim Saadoun, appear in a courtroom behind bars in footage shared by the Belarusian outlet Nexta. They are asked whether they have any objections to their indictments, and all answer no before taking a seat.

The men are accused of “mercenarism and committing crimes aimed at the forcible seizure and retention of power,” according to Nexta.

The trial is taking place in a pro-Russian separatist region of Donetsk, under the control of the prosecutor general’s office of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. Russian state television discussed the case Tuesday evening on a talk show, and one pundit, Andrey Sidorov, dean of the world politics faculty at Moscow State University, told the host that the “mercenaries” could face the death penalty.

“If the court approves the death penalty, if Anglo-Saxons are lined up and shot for the first time, that will have a much more serious impact,” he said.

Britain’s Foreign Office issued a statement on behalf of Aslin’s family on Tuesday.

“This is a very sensitive and emotional time for our family, and we would like to say thank you to all that have supported us,” it said. “We are currently working with the Ukrainian government and the Foreign Office to try and bring Aiden home. Aiden is a much-loved man and very much missed, and we hope that he will be released very soon.”

Aslin spent weeks defending the strategic port city of Mariupol before his unit surrendered. In April, images of him and others wearing handcuffs and in Russian custody circulated online and on pro-Russian media. Washington Post