Aiden Aslin: family of Briton captured by Russian troops in Ukraine plead for his return

Mr Aslin is one of three men accused of being mercenaries for Ukrainian forces

Aiden Aslin, a British fighter captured in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol by Russian troops. Reuters

Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine

The family of a British fighter captured by Russian troops in Ukraine have thanked supporters as he faces charges that could carry a death penalty.

Aiden Aslin is one of three men accused of being mercenaries for Ukraine and his family have said they are working with the UK Foreign Office and Ukrainian government to get him home.

The family released a statement through the Foreign Office, describing Mr Aslin as a “much-loved man and very much missed”.

The president of Ukraine’s separatist Donetsk People’s Republic said the region’s supreme court was opening the trial of the three Britons.

Mr Aslin, 28, and one of his co-accused, Shaun Pinner, 48, had appeared in the dock in the pro-Russian territory, the BBC reported on Tuesday.

If the men are convicted of the charges, which include trying to “seize power”, it is feared that the court, which is not internationally recognised, could pass the death penalty.

British citizens Aiden Aslin, left, and Shaun Pinner, right, and Moroccan Saaudun Brahim, centre, sit behind bars in a courtroom in the breakaway eastern Ukrainian enclave of Donetsk. The three were sentenced to death by pro-Moscow rebels for fighting on Ukraine's side. AP

A Ukrainian soldier fires a machine gun near the town of New York in the breakaway Donetsk enclave. Reuters

The gutted remains of cars lie along a road during heavy fighting in Severodonetsk. AP

Ukrainian soldiers ride an armoured vehicle near the city of Bakhmut, in the breakaway Donetsk enclave. EPA

Ukrainian soldiers and members of civilian demining organisations take part in a training exercise for bomb disposal experts in Peja, Kosovo. Getty

Volunteers clear debris near a damaged shopping mall after night shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. EPA

A man walks past a college on fire after a strike in Lysychansk in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP

Ukrainian service members near the town of Soledar. Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. AFP

Residents kneel during a funeral procession for senior lieutenant Vasyl Herych, 31, of the 15th Separate Mountain Assault Battalion, who was killed in Perechyn, Ukraine. Reuters

People hide in a bomb shelter in the city of Lysychansk in the Donbas region. AFP

Ivan Sosnin, 19, surveys the damage to his home in Lysychansk. AFP

Ukrainian troops repair a tank in the Donbas region. AFP

Ukrainian troops fire rockets towards Russian positions at a front line in the Donbas region. AFP

Volunteers from a Danish NGO demonstrate how to search for explosive devices with help of a loop metal detector, outside the town of Ichnia in Ukraine. Reuters

A firefighter takes a break after putting out a fire at a house in a district of Kharkiv that was bombed by Russian forces. Reuters

Plumes of smoke rise from a house on fire after a military strike by Russian forces in Kharkiv. Reuters

The damaged house of Inna Bobryntseva, a woman who died during Russian shelling, in Kharkiv. Ukrainian officials exhumed her body from her backyard as part of an investigation into war crimes. Reuters

A man moves items from a damaged shop in Kharkiv after a Russian military strike the night before. Reuters

Civilian militia men hold shotguns during training at a shooting range on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. AFP

A woman walks by a destroyed apartment building in the town of Borodyanka. AFP

Rescuers dismantle collapsing structures of a heavily damaged 16-storey residential building in the Saltivka district of Kharkiv. AFP

A Ukrainian bomb disposal worker carries unexploded ordnance during mine clearance work in the village of Yahidne, in the liberated territories of the Chernihiv region. AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, centre, visits the military during a trip to the Zaporizhzhia region. AFP

Ukrainian service members fire a shell from a M777 Howitzer in the Donetsk region as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues. Reuters

Ukrainian servicemen manoeuvre a tank near the frontline in the Donetsk region. AP Photo

The remains of the Darnytsia Car Repair Plant damaged by missile strikes in Kyiv. EPA

A couple embrace on Maidan square in Kyiv. AP Photo

Smoke rises from a residential area in Kyiv. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said several explosions occurred following missile strikes in the Darnytskyi and Dniprovskyi districts of the capital with no casualties reported. EPA

A woman holds a poster showing Russian President Vladimir Putin during a protest against the war in Ukraine at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. AP

Smoke rises in the background after Russian missile strikes in Kyiv. AP

A Ukrainian serviceman pauses before going back to the frontline in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. AP

Firefighters dampen down a rail facility in the Darnytsia district of Kyiv after a Russian air strike. EPA

An elderly woman sits in front of destroyed houses after a missile strike, which killed a civilian, in the city of Druzhkivka in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP

A man examines an apartment destroyed during shelling in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. Five civilians were killed and 20 were injured. EPA

Residents examine cars destroyed during shelling in Donetsk. EPA

Civilians are evacuated from apartments destroyed during shelling in Donetsk. EPA

A man looks on as smoke rises after explosions were heard in Kyiv. Reuters

Residents chat in front of a destroyed building in Borodianka, as Russia's attacks on Ukraine continue. Reuters

A monument to Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, damaged by shelling in Borodianka. Reuters

Men scavenge a burnt Russian military vehicle for parts and scrap metal in Novyi Bykiv. Getty

A crater and a destroyed building after a rocket attack on a small airfield near Kharkiv. EPA

Ukrainian howitzers in action at an undisclosed location. AFP

A girl rides a scooter past a destroyed building in the village of Horenka, Kyiv. AFP

Pope Francis hugs a child during a meeting at the Vatican with children with disabilities and Ukrainian children who fled their country. Reuters

Ukrainian emergency works at a damaged building following shelling in Kharkiv. AP

Members of a medical rescue team gather inside their temporary base in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. AP

A woman sits at a destroyed bus station in the city of Mariupol. AFP

Residents are evacuated from Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine. AP

They were both members of regular Ukrainian military units in Mariupol. The affiliation of a third British man, Andrew Hill, who was captured in the Mykolaiv area, is unclear.

Footage emerged on Tuesday of three men — reported to be Mr Aslin, Mr Pinner and Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim — in what appears to be a court dock.

They spoke only to confirm they were aware of the charges they faced and said they consented to their case proceeding without witness evidence, the BBC reported.

Separatist president Denis Pushilin on Monday claimed “the crimes they committed were monstrous”, according to separatist news agency Dan.

“We, the family of Aiden Aslin, wish to ask for privacy at this time from the media," his relatives said on Tuesday.

“This is a very sensitive and emotional time for our family, and we would like to say thank you to all that have supported us.

“We are currently working with the Ukrainian government and the Foreign Office to try and bring Aiden home. Aiden is a much-loved man and very much missed, and we hope that he will be released very soon.”

UK Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has said the Foreign Office will “make all the representations” on Mr Aslin’s behalf.

“In relation to that case, I don’t know all the details, but of course we would expect the laws of armed conflict to be respected and we will make sure that we will make all the representations," Mr Raab told LBC on Monday.

“I know the Foreign Office will be looking at making sure all those representations are made.”