Moroccan and British Fighters Sentenced to Death by Pro-Russian Separatists in Ukraine

These three fighters, including the Moroccan Brahim Saadoun, thought they were defending a cause they believed in, but they were sentenced to death on Thursday for mercenary activities by the justice of the separatist authorities of Donetsk, according to Russian news agencies.

"The Supreme Court of the Donetsk People’s Republic has sentenced to death the Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and the Moroccan Brahim Saadoun, accused of participating in the fighting as mercenaries," reported the official Russian news agency TASS.

The three accused will "appeal". According to the agency, Brahim Saadoun and Shaun Pinner had pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to the charges of "mercenary" but they acknowledged their participation in the fighting "aimed at the violent seizure of power".