No violations of rights of British mercenary sentenced to death in DPR
UK national Sean Pinner and two more convicted mercenaries can plea for mercy after the verdict comes into force, his attorney Yulia Tserkovnikova told
The rights of UK national Sean Pinner, who was sentenced to capital punishment in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) for taking part in combat operations in Ukraine as mercenary, have not been violated by the DPR Supreme Court and investigators, said his attorney Yulia Tserkovnikova.
According to Tserkovnikova, her client and two more convicted mercenaries can plea for mercy after the verdict comes into force.
“As an attorney, I keep a close eye on the observance of my client’s rights and legal interests. Sean Pinner’s rights envisaged by the laws of the Donetsk People’s Republic were not violated either during the investigation or during the court trial,” she said. “He and his interpreter, who was provided by the Donetsk People’s Republic free of charge, were present when the verdict was pronounced. It has not yet come into effect.”
She also said that the United Kingdom had not contacted the DPR authorities following the verdict to Pinner and another British national, Aiden Aslin. “As far as I know, no motions from the country, whose citizens Sean Pinner is, have come to the authorities of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” she said, adding that her client insists on challenging the verdict. “Under the current laws, a plea for mercy can be lodged after the verdict comes into force. The sentenced foreigners have already received the translated court verdict,” she noted.
According to defense lawyers of other sentenced mercenaries, Aiden Aslin of the United Kingdom and Moroccan national Brahim Saadoun, they plan to lodge pleas for mercy after their appeals from the judgement are considered. Attorney Pavel Kosovan told TASS earlier that under law capital punishment may be replaced by a life or a 25-year sentence. The head of the republic can either pardon the convicts or not, he added.
On June 9, a DPR cout r sentenced two British nationals, Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, as well as Moroccan Brahim Saadoun to capital punishment for fighting in the Ukrainian army as mercenaries. They were captured in Donbass.
The DPR prosecutor general’s office said earlier that Pinner’s, Aslin’s, and Saadoun’s testimonies indicated their involvement in crimes under part 2, article 34 of the DPR Criminal Code (crimes committed by a group of individuals), article 323 (seizure of power or holding pf power by force), and article 430 (mercenary activities).
Russia’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrey Kelin said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel on Wednesday that London had not contacted Russia over the sentence to its nationals in the DPR.
