Moroccan sentenced to death by court in self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic

LONDON - Two Britons and a Moroccan who were captured while fighting for Ukraine were sentenced to death on Thursday by a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), one of Russia's proxies in eastern Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported.

The court found the three men - Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and Moroccan Brahim Saadoun - guilty of "mercenary activities and committing actions aimed at seizing power and overthrowing the constitutional order of the DPR," the Interfax news agency quoted a court official as saying.

The three men were captured while fighting for Ukraine against Russia and Russian-backed forces that entered the country on February 24.

Their lawyer said they will appeal the decision.

Britain's foreign ministry had no fresh comment on the sentencing of the two Britons. On Wednesday, it condemned what it called the exploitation of prisoners of war for political purposes and said they were "entitled to combatant immunity."

British citizens Aslin and Pinner were captured by the Russian-backed forces in Mariupol in April, during a bitter fight for control of the city.

Moroccan Saadoun surrendered in March while fighting in a small town between Mariupol and the regional capital of Donetsk.