Governor: Convicted Brits were regular soldiers
Governor: Convicted Britons were regular soldiers
Released on 28..2022
- The two convicted Britons had fought in the south-east Ukrainian port of Mariupol. Photo: Victor/XinHua/dpa
Have you heard?
You can now have your messages read out to you. Simply click the play icon on any article or add the post to your personal playlist via the plus icon and listen to it later.
Listen to article:
Pro-Russian separatists have sentenced foreign fighters for Ukraine to death. The governor of Luhansk refers to the official status of the British - the Geneva Convention applies to them.
Luhansk/London.
The two Britons sentenced to death by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine are, according to Ukrainian sources, regular soldiers.
"All people who come to fight on the Ukrainian side sign documents with the Armed Forces of Ukraine , which gives them official status," Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Hajday told BBC Radio 4 on Friday. "Therefore, if they are taken prisoner of war, they are subject to the Geneva Convention."
They should not be sentenced to death because of this, even if they are not Ukrainians, said Hajdaj.
Governor: Appealed
The governor said to his knowledge the mens lawyers had already appealed the judgment of the unrecognized court. "What is happening is only happening because of political pressure from Russia," said Hajdaj.
The two Brits aged 28 and 10 years ago, after weeks of fighting, pro-Russian troops surrendered in the south-east Ukrainian port of Mariupol. According to media reports, they lived in Ukraine before the war and also married there. Together with a Moroccan, they were sentenced to death as mercenaries on Thursday. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss spoke of a "false judgment without any legitimacy". She wanted to discuss the procedure with her Ukrainian colleague Dmytro Kuleba at the earliest opportunity. (dpa)
