Donetsk separatist court indicts 5 foreigners – 3 face death penalty

A Russian-backed separatist court in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk on Monday indicted five foreign nationals caught fighting with Ukrainian forces as mercenaries, saying three of them could face the death penalty, Russian media reported today. with Reuters.

Briton John Harding, Croat Vjekoslav Prebeg and Swedish national Matias Gustafsson, who were arrested in and around the port city of Mariupol, face a possible death penalty under the laws of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Russian state news agency TASS reported. .

Two other Britons, Dylan Healy and Andrew Hill, were also charged but do not face the death penalty. All five defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges, TASS reported.

Donetsk authorities in June sentenced to death two Britons and a Moroccan national caught fighting with Ukrainian forces against Russia on charges of attempting a violent seizure of power and being mercenaries.

Foreign governments have refused to negotiate with the Donetsk People’s Republic, one of two Russian-backed entities that have controlled parts of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region since 2014, citing its internationally recognized status as part of Ukraine.

Source: Capital

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