3 Foreign Fighters in Ukraine’s Army Sentenced to Death in Russian-Held Territory

Two Britons and a Moroccan who had fought for the Ukrainian armed forces were sentenced to death Thursday by a court in Russia-occupied eastern Ukraine after being accused of being mercenaries, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported.

The death sentences were the latest ominous step in a trial that has alarmed human rights advocates and Western governments, raising questions about the protections afforded to thousands of foreign-born fighters serving in Ukraine, some of whom have been taken prisoner on the battlefield.

Britain’s foreign secretary, Liz Truss, wrote on Twitter that the court verdict was a “sham judgment with absolutely no legitimacy.” One British member of Parliament called the proceedings a “Soviet-era-style show trial.” Read more

@nytimes