U.K. Captive Sentenced to Death Files Appeal With Russian Proxies

Shaun Pinner, a British citizen sentenced to death by Russian proxies in Ukraine’s occupied Donetsk, has filed an appeal in a bid to avoid death by firing squad. A lawyer for Pinner announced the news in comments to Russia’s Interfax news agency Wednesday, noting that authorities would now have two months to consider the motion. “If they reject it, we will write a petition for pardon. The client has requested this, I am obliged,” lawyer Yulia Tserkovnikova was quoted saying. Pinner is one of three foreign volunteers now facing death after he was captured by Russian forces while fighting alongside Ukrainian troops in Vladimir Putin’s war. Despite officially serving in Ukraine’s military, both Russia and the Russian-backed authorities in Donetsk have deemed all three men “mercenaries” and accused them of trying to violently seize power. Pavel Kosovan, a lawyer representing Pinner’s fellow British captive Aiden Aslin, told Russian state media last week that Aslin also intends to file an appeal but “doesn’t believe that an appeal will have a positive result.” Moroccan citizen Brahim Saadoun, the third captive sentenced to death, is also said to be preparing an appeal. The leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, has said in interviews with Russian media that he sees “no basis” to grant the men a pardon.