CNN
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Self-proclaimed pro-Russian investigators Donetsk People’s Republic The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on Friday that it had charged two other British nationals with committing “…mercenariesAccording to the Donetsk News Agency.
An investigation is now underway against British mercenaries Dylan Healey and Andrew Hill. They are charged under the same articles as the three previously convicted mercenaries. The agency said, quoting an unnamed parliament official, that the investigation is underway and charges have been filed.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is a pro-Russian region in eastern Ukraine that is not internationally recognized.
The British Foreign Office condemned the “exploitation” of prisoners for political purposes and said it had raised the issue with the Russian government.
“We are in constant contact with the government of Ukraine on their cases and fully support Ukraine in its efforts to release them,” a government spokesperson added.
On June 9, the British Aiden Aslin and Sean Benner, along with Moroccan citizen Ibrahim Saadoun, were sentenced to death after being convicted of being “mercenaries” of Ukraine by a court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Russian state media reported at the time.
People’s Defense Council officials said the men were foreign fighters arrested by Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in April. Russia’s official news agency, RIA Novosti, said Beiner, Aslen and Saadoun would be shot and that they had until July 9 to file an appeal.
On behalf of her client, Benner’s attorney, Yulia Tserkovnikova, said Friday that she would seek clemency and forgiveness on humanitarian grounds to halt the execution. But Cherkovnikova said she would not appeal the court’s verdict.
“We will appeal to humanity, as my client’s guilt has been fully proven by the court. Tserkovnikova was quoted by the Donetsk News Agency as saying that the complaint would be based on any evidence of innocence.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg on Thursday granted “provisional measures” to Boehner and Aslen, calling on the Russian Federation to ensure that the death penalty is not carried out.
Interim measures are granted in connection with court proceedings when there is an “imminent risk of irreparable harm”, According to the European Court of Human Rights.
The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that the Russian Federation no longer complied with the instructions of the European Court of Human Rights, and suggested that the court establish direct contact with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
