The family of a British man sentenced to death by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine have said they are “devastated and saddened” at the outcome of the “illegal show-trial”.
Shaun Pinner was captured in Mariupol in April alongside fellow Brit Aiden Aslin during the intense fight for control of the port city.
The pair were found guilty of “mercenary activities and committing actions aimed at seizing power and overthrowing the constitutional order of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” though their families maintain they were fighting legitimately as part of the Ukrainian army and should be treated as prisoners of war.
