British citizen Sean Pinner, citizen of the Kingdom of Morocco Saadoun Brahim and British citizen Aiden Aslin in a courtroom in Donetsk. Archival photoMOSCOW, June 9 The head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, commented on the possibility of pardoning foreign mercenaries convicted in the republic.
"Yes, of course, there is such a possibility, but the question in terms of justice, it is also in the air. I know the position of the citizens of the republic <…> regarding these criminals", Pushilin said on Channel One.
According to him, the residents of the DPR «perceive the sentence against three foreign mercenaries as a triumph of justice.» Pushilin added that they did not hide their crimes. The head of the DPR also stressed that the British authorities did not apply to the republic about their subjects. In his opinion, neither London nor Rabat is interested in the fate of the mercenaries.
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On Thursday, the Supreme Court of the Donetsk People's Republic sentenced two British citizens, Aiden Aslin and Sean Pinner, and one Moroccan citizen, Saadoun Brahim, who fought on the side of Ukrainian militants, to capital punishment — the death penalty. According to the laws of the republic, those sentenced will be shot. Earlier, Pinner, Aslin and Brahim pleaded guilty to actions aimed at seizing power by force. Aslin also pleaded guilty under the article «Training in order to carry out terrorist activities.» The mercenaries surrendered in Mariupol in mid-April.
Media: a French mercenary who fought on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was killed near KharkovDeputy Prime Minister of Great Britain Dominic Raab stated that the country's government intends to file a protest in connection with the criminal case against Aslin. Since February 24, Russia has been conducting a military special operation to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine. As Vladimir Putin stressed, its goal is «to protect people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» According to the Ministry of Defense, the Russian army has completed the main tasks of the first stage — it has significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the department was the liberation of Donbass.