Recently, the ‘court’ of the so-called DNR sentenced to death three foreign soldiers who were fighting within the Armed Forces of Ukraine against Russian invasion.

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova has stated that according to Geneva conventions, Aiden Eislin and Shaun Pinner from the UK, and Saadun Brahim from Morocco have the immunity of combatants and as prisoners of war cannot be prosecuted for direct participation in hostilities. Their detention should be aimed only at preventing their further participation in hostilities.

In addition, no prisoner of war may be convicted without the possibility of defense and without the assistance of a qualified lawyer or defense counsel. This is the basic principle of the right to a fair trial, which applies in both peacetime and wartime.

‘In today’s European space, the death penalty is seen as an unacceptable form of punishment, incompatible with fundamental rights, the right to life and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment’, Venediktova said.

She is convinced that the ‘verdict’ against the three soldiers is nothing more than a violation of the obligations of Russia as an occupying power under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Russia is once again demonstrating its alienation from the rule-based system and blatant disregard for the very basis of the rule of law.

The Prosecutor General stated that Ukraine has already launched an investigation into this fact and will take all necessary measures to bring all those involved in these illegal actions to justice.