We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
TWO BRITISH SOLDIERS who were captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine have been sentenced to death by pro-Moscow rebels.
Downing Street said the UK Government was “deeply concerned” about the sentences given to Aiden Aslin, 28 and Shaun Pinner, 48, who have been found guilty of taking action towards violent seizure of power at a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
A No 10 spokesman said: “We are obviously deeply concerned by this. We have said continually that prisoners of war shouldn’t be exploited for political purposes.
“You will know that under the Geneva Convention prisoners of war are entitled to combatant immunity and they should not be prosecuted for participation in hostilities.
“So we will continue to work with the Ukrainian authorities to try to secure the release of any British nationals who were serving in the Ukrainian armed forces and who are being held as prisoners of war.”
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss condemned the sentencing as a “sham judgement” and said the Government is doing “everything we can” to support them, adding that her thoughts are with the men’s families.
I utterly condemn the sentencing of Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner held by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine.
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) June 9, 2022
They are prisoners of war. This is a sham judgment with absolutely no legitimacy.
My thoughts are with the families. We continue to do everything we can to support them.
A third man, Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim, was convicted alongside them.
Russian media outlet RIA Novosti reported that the three are set to face a firing squad.
Interfax, a Russian news agency, claimed the men would be able to appeal against their convictions.
It comes after the family of Aslin, who is said to also hold Ukrainian nationality, shared an emotional appeal expressing their hopes for his return to the UK.
“We, the family of Aiden Aslin, wish to ask for privacy at this time from the media,” the family said in a written statement 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.
“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’s MP, former Tory minister Robert Jenrick, condemned the “trumped-up charges” and said Russia had breached international law.
His comments came after footage emerged of the two men alongside Brahim in what appeared to be a dock in the separatist territory’s supreme court, which is not internationally recognised.
Jenrick told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme on Wednesday: “(SaAslin) is a British citizen, but who also holds Ukrainian nationality, is married to a Ukrainian, joined the Ukrainian armed forces in the normal way prior to (Vladimir) Putin’s illegal invasion, and has been serving in the armed forces.
“He was taken prisoner by Russian forces and in accordance with international law and the Geneva Convention, he should be being held appropriately and returned to Ukraine at the earliest possible opportunity, possibly through a prisoner exchange.
“Instead of that, Putin’s regime have chosen to put him and another British national, Shaun Pinner, on trial on trumped up charges, no evidence whatsoever. This is, I’m afraid, a completely outrageous breach of international law and it should be condemned.”
He added: “What I hope happens is that a prisoner exchange occurs in the near future. The Russian authorities have chosen to make an example out of these two British nationals and it is, I think, completely shameful.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Ooh. This moves the goalposts a little.
Poor men and their families.
Executing prisoners of war. Russia doing Russian things. Hopefully these lads are spared, you could see it in the videos of them a while back the Russians were torturing them to make them say certain things on video.
@Seán Ó Briain: It was the DPR (Pro-Russia, not Russian). Unless you’re accepting that they are indeed now part of the Russian federation???
@Rory Jennequin:
Regardless there’s no death penalty in Ukraine or Russia, a sign of what Donetsk has to look forward to under DPR control should they be successful
@Calvin James: So…death penalty bad? You mean like The US who pushed everyone into this conflict?
@Rory Jennequin:
I find it strange that there’s no death penalty in the country they occupy nor in the one that backs them. Also chemtrails bruh
@Calvin James: The US dangled NATO membership in front of Ukraine like a carrot despite it not being possible (territorial dispute) just to p*ss off Russia. Unfortunately both sides fell for it and the Ukrainians are suffering as a result. Ukraine has no place in the EU or NATO and were told this for over a decade before. That’s not conspiracy, that’s fact and news articles and statements from country leaders for years prior back this up.
@Rory Jennequin: Do the people of Ukraine get a say in whether they want to join NATO or the EU?
@Rory Jennequin: it’s not up to you to say what right Ukraine has to be a member of NATO or the EU. They are decisions for the Ukrainian people and those organisations. The only aggressor at present is the Russian fascist regime and it’s dictator who continue to slaughter thousands of innocents and commit war crimes in its neighbouring country.
@GrumpyAulFella: I never said it was my decision. NATO cannot accept a new member if they are involved in a territorial conflict (Crimea in this case) and I was referring to comments made by world leaders saying they should not be accepted due to corruption…
@Rory Jennequin: Why has Ukraine no place in the EU? Because your glorious, money laundering, genocidal, jackboot fascist leader says so? Ukraine was never getting NATO membership because of Russia’s illegal occupation of Crimea and the dispute so that’s a red herring. The bottom line is Putin has never accepted Ukrainian independence or right to self determination. It’s his war and his alone and any attempt to blame NATO is nothing more than deflection and distraction. NATO never invaded Russia and never threatened Russia. Russia is the aggressor. Why do you think all of the former Warsaw Pact states and former Soviet states want closer relations and integration with the West rather than their former occupiers?
@Elrond Rivendell: ohhh! You had to mention money laundering? Zelenski was mentioned in the Panama papers, that’s only one of many reasons why most of the EU said Ukraine was not welcome. He’s no angel.I never said Russia was right in this conflict, and they’re not. I said they were fooled into it by the US and the Ukrainians are paying the price. And I’m just wondering here, are the Russians trying to bring back the Soviet Union or are they fascists? You are aware that one is far left and the other far right??? Please pick a side…
@Rory Jennequin: That doesn’t make sense. Explain how exactly were the Ukrainian people “fooled” into having their country invaded?
@Rory Jennequin: ..and if you mean the Russians were the ones “fooled” by a third party into invading Ukraine that makes even less sense and in no way should be a mitigating reason for what they’ve done.
@Rory Jennequin: NATO cannot accept membership of a state involved in a territorial conflict. How about Turkey and their illegal occupation of Northern Cyprus for the last almost 50 years?
@Alex Marquis: Turkey should never have been accepted to NATO either, they just happened to have a big enough army to suit the needs. Does not make it right though…
@Rory Jennequin: I never said they were trying to bring back Soviet Union. Try reading there chief. Deflection again mentioning Zelensky and Panama Papers. Did you read Freezing Order by Bill Browder? Shows the utter rotten corruption at the heart of fascist Russia. As for being fooled into a conflict, I’ve never heard such rubbish analysis of this issue. Putin has long said that Ukraine, Russia and Belarus should all be one country. He propped up successive puppets in Ukraine who did his beckoning. When Ukraine tried to shake off the jackboot, Putin took Crimea and instigated civil war in Donbas. He was not fooled. It was always his intention to bring Ukraine back under the thumb of Moscow. He is a fascist imperialist. Clear as day.
@Rory Jennequin: get of the drugs Russian bot
@GrumpyAulFella: this is a Russian bot. The one thing they are good at is spycraft.. to make up for their army
@Rory Jennequin:
With you on that one
UK needs to drop a payload on Red Square
@Genera L Consensus: Grand relation on London…that will solve all problems. Next move.
Beyond outrageous. I know Aiden and he’s far from a merc. Enlisted man 4 years and has citizenship. Russia will fob responsibility onto their separatist lapdogs and the world will turn.
These lads aren’t children at 24 and 48. They obviously decided to be mercenaries. That means they will kill people for money. Save your virtue signalling
@Bob Murphy: I think one of the lads is getting married to a Ukrainian lassie and has been there for years
@Bob Murphy:
They were enlisted in the Marines the last 4 years and have citizenship. If someone moved here from Spain 4 years ago and joined the army does that make them a mercenary?
@Bob Murphy: Read the article. They are specifically not mercenaries under any law.
@Bob Murphy: You don’t know what you’re talking about. These individuals were members of regular armed forces, in a unit inside a regular military structure of an independent state. They are not mercenaries by any definition.
As far as your definition of “killing people for money”, even recruits get paid while serving, let alone professional solders. If your definition would hold true, you should start by writing a stern letter to your TD, asking them why is Ireland supporting mercenary armed forces …
Mercenaries are hired *irregulars* who conduct their activities outside of regular army structure, without having to comply with regular army commands and instructions and thus outside of international conventions with regards to conduct during a time of a war by regular forces.
Now do step down from your high horse and just admin to yourself that you just don’t care about Ukraine or their war for independence. That’s fine. You still live in a world where you’re free to publicly disagree with majority of people around you. But do recognise that Ukraine people are now fighting and dying in thousands to keep that right. Not as mercenaries, but as members of regular armed forces of an internationally recognised independent state.
@Steve O’Connor: they recognised that they are guilty. Each h country has their own legal system. Unfortunately Donetsk, USA Iran and China have capital punishment in their criminal law.
@Steve O’Connor: under.which law?
@THINK Paddy THINK:
Donetsk is not a country. A group of terrorists is planning to execute Ukrainian citizens in the name of their extremist Russian ethnonationalist ideology.
The same western governments that had no problem with long jail sentences and the condemnation of foreign fighters in Iraq, Afghanistan now suddenly condem the sentences handed down to foreign fighters just because it doesn’t suit their political agenda…hypocrisy.
@Donal Desmond: These men are Ukrainian citizens enlisted for years before this phase of the war. Specifically by law and under the Geneva convention they are not considered foreign fighters.
@Donal Desmond: You’re completely wrong. You’re basically repeating the Russian propaganda. As defined by Article 47 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, a mercenary is any person who:
1. Is specially recruited locally or abroad,
2. Does, in fact, participate directly in the hostilities,
3. Is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that party
4. Is neither a national of a party to the conflict nor a resident of a territory controlled by a party to the conflict;
5. Is not a member of the armed forces of a party to the conflict;
6. Has not been sent by a State that is not a party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces.
“It must be noted that this definition is a very restrictive one since it applies only to international armed conflict and requires six cumulative criteria to be met.”
https://guide-humanitarian-law.org/content/article/3/mercenaries/
In Aiden’s Aslin and Shaun Pinner’s case:
1. They were not recruited, they joined.
2. They are not receiving any special wages etc., both are paid the same as other members of the Marines.
3. They are Dull citizens of Ukraine, both married Ukrainians, Shaun lived with his wife in Mariupol since 2018.
4. Both are members of the Ukrainian armed forces, the 36th Marine Brigade, since 2018.
@Donal Desmond: Typical Celtic supporting RA head, so consumed by your hatred of the Brits you support Russia executing prisoners.
@Tom Quin: Just pointing out the Hypocrisy of the Western powers. I’m sure you will agree British troops through their Imperial wars had no problem in executing prisoners.
@Donal Desmond: Those irregular fighters that you’re talking about were irregular. They were not even remotely in the same position as these poor souls are.
If you want to point out what western hypocrisy is, you can ask a core question which is: FFS why invade a sovereign state and overthrow their government. Invasion of Iraq was as illegal as it gets and so was invasion of Afganistan. These were exactly same violations of international order like Russia does by occupying parts of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.
If you care about the elephant in the room, that is …
The only reason why most of the world is standing on the side and not getting involved is recognition that USA and UK pretty much did the same butchering of Iraq and especially Iraq. They didn’t like that and why would now support specifically these two countries going all out “holier than thou” when Russia is taking a page from their book.
The reason why I think that Europe kinda has to suck it up when it comes to this hypocrisy is fairly simple. We have a lot of our collective skin on the line. Without much deliberation, let me just point out that Balkans already started one world war and Putin has quite a number of friends there. Friends that also have territorial aspirations in their neighbourhood.
@Ian Ó Broin: Invasion of Afghanistan had a UN mandate.
The two soldiers facing execution are not mercenaries or ‘irregulars’. They have been living in Ukraine and serving in it’s military, one of them for six years, and one of them is married to a Ukrainian.
You do not have to be a citizen to legally serve in another nations military here are Irishmen serving in militaries all over the world, they are not mercenaries.
@Ian Ó Broin: Agree, Ukraine, Crimea, Turkey Russia dating back to the Crimean war and before, was a game of imperial powers. Nothing has changed except the years. The involvement of England and France was a pretext to Stop Russian imperial ambitions while preserving their own imperialism and hopefully expanding it…Nothing has changed.
@Tom Quin: If invasion of Afghanistan had a UN mandate, you’ll certainly be able to state the resolution number and date when it was passed.
Irregulars (no quotes, I believe I’m using the term correctly) I was referencing were fighters that Donald Desmond mentioned. I.e. “foreign fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan”. These were not part of any standing state armed forces, some but not all were mercenaries so I think calling them irregulars is the correct term. I agree that the three mentioned souls that were sentenced to death in Ukraine have absolutely nothing to do with what Donald mentioned and I suspect we just had a bit of crossed wires here.
@Donal Desmond: If we stick to modern day and age, the idea is that WW2 should have “taught us a lesson” and that world order should really no longer tolerate wars of land conquest. Sadly, starting with Korean war almost immediately after WW2 (the first UN-sanctioned war, kicking out Iraq from Kuwait was the last UN-sanctioned war – the rest were/are peace-keeping missions) this was often ignored and USA with a coalition of willing enablers was doing it on a really industrial scale.
So no, no need to go back to 19th century or further back. Just because USA and UK today support Ukraine defending from unhinged invader, that doesn’t mean that they were not guilty of exactly same crime just over 20 years ago in Iraq. Everyone who doesn’t feel like they have their skin on the line with Russia today is very acutely aware of this particular hypocrisy and I think this is the reason that many states in the world today don’t feel inclined to side with USA or UK … to the cost of Ukraine.
So, yeah. Supporting Ukraine today means getting in bed with yesterday’s war criminals from Iraq and Afghanistan. It requires quite a sizeable blind spot, no doubt about it. But for my part, I can stomach it if it will help push Russia back to borders it had after USSR dissolved and persuade this and all future Russian governments that a war will not work to protect their interests and interests of those Russians who, for this or that historical reason, live outside of Russia’s borders.
FFS, the whole continent of Europe has nations living in multiple countries as borders shifted with each war. This is why EU actually matters and why freedom of movement is such an important pillar of freedoms agreed between member states of EU, EEA and CH.
Maybe we could interrupt Filatov’s arranging and rearranging his tutu and ask him to comment on this? And , for good measure, how it squares with Russia’s increasing reliance on extra-military personnel? Would he be happy if Ukraine also executes this type of combatant (although I presume that, logically, he would be)
Always provoking, backstabbing, disregarding earlier given promises, always looking for scapegoats and saying it was not us, prove it was us. These are tactics of thugs from back streets but one can hardly believe that leadership of the largest country on the planet would act like this.
Liz Truss encouraged British citizens to fight for Ukraine, maybe she should not have said that and condoned their actions.
Typical lazy journal headline. While the both are British subjects, they are Ukrainian soldiers!!!
The British Department of Dirty Tricks
can be found anywhere there isTrouble in the World
Do the pro Russian separatists operate under the same code as the regular Russian armed forces?
@Aidy McBride: Russia dies not have capital punishment and is against it. DNR has its own legal code. The UK an d Morocco need to engage diplomatically to solve the problem. But it seems they will not.
@THINK Paddy THINK:
There is no such country as “the DNR”, regardless of what some Russian terrorists say.
Interesting how British MP’s are now worried about others breaching international law, when that is exactly what they intend doing over the NI Protocol. Kinda ironic really.
have your say