No Pardon for Britons Sentenced to Death, Pro-Russian Separatist Leader Says

Britons Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner, and Moroccan Brahim Saadoun captured by Russian forces during a military conflict in Ukraine, in a courtroom cage at a location given as Donetsk, Ukraine, on June 7, 2022, in a still from video. Supreme Court of Donetsk People's Republic/Handout via Reuters

LONDON—The leader of the Russian-backed separatist Donetsk region of Ukraine said on June 12 that there is no reason to pardon two British nationals who were sentenced to death last week after being captured while fighting for Ukraine.

A court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic on June 9 found Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner—and Moroccan Brahim Saadoun—guilty of “mercenary activities” seeking to overthrow the republic.