Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images
- An MP has accused the Kremlin of contravening the Geneva Convention by broadcasting videos of Aiden Aslin.
- Aslin was captured by Russian forces and appeared to repeat Kremlin propaganda in a series of clips.
- Robert Jenrick tweeted a statement from Aslin’s family, saying the videos “must stop”.
A British member of parliament has accused the Kremlin of contravening the Geneva Convention after Russian state TV broadcast video footage of captured UK fighter Aiden Aslin.
Aslin had been fighting alongside Ukraine’s armed forces in the besieged city of Mariupol, but was forced to surrender to Russian troops.
Several propaganda clips have aired on TV networks Rossia 1 and RT channels showing Aslin and fellow Brit Shaun Pinner. Both men fought in Mariupol as part of Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade.
Aslin was shown handcuffed and with cuts and bruises on his face, and referenced alleged “Nazi atrocities” in Ukraine, which is how Moscow justified its invasion, CBS reported.
In another clip, Pinner appealed to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to secure his and Aslin’s release by swapping them with pro-Kremlin Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk.
Russian newspaper Izvestia described Aslin as a “mercenary.”
Robert Jenrick, the MP for Aslin’s hometown and a former minister, tweeted a statement from his family late Tuesday night, saying: “He is not, contrary to the Kremlin’s propaganda, a volunteer, a mercenary, or a spy.”
A former care worker, Aslin had moved to Ukraine in 2018 and joined the military, but his life had been “turned upside down by Putin’s barbarous invasion,” the family statement said.
Jenrick added: “The video of Aiden speaking under duress and having clearly suffered physical injuries is deeply distressing. Using images and videos of prisoners of war is in contravention of the Geneva Convention and must stop.
“Together with the family of Shaun Pinner (the second Britain captured in Mariupol), we are in contact with the Foreign Office to ensure the Russian authorities meet their obligations to prisoners of war under international law, and ultimately to secure the release of Aiden and Shaun.”
Jenrick then raised the matter during Prime Minister’s Questions Wednesday, asking Boris Johnson to “agree with me that this is a flagrant breach of the Geneva Convention, that treating any prisoner of war in this manner is illegal and that the interviewer Graham Phillips in danger of prosecution for war crimes?”
Jenrick also asked for assurances that platforms such as YouTube should remove such videos.
Johnson called for Russia to treat Aslin “humanely and compassionately”, saying his situation was “very different to that of a mercenary”, adding: “I thoroughly echo the sentiments of my right hon friend about those who broadcast propaganda messages.”
Insider did not immediately receive a response from the Foreign Office to a request for comment on Aslin’s case.
Aslin’s mother, Angela Wood, has previously pleaded for Putin’s forces to treat her son with humanity.
“I’m in bits. I now hold Vladimir Putin to the terms of the Geneva Convention,” Wood said, according to the Daily Mail. “Aiden is a serving member of the Ukrainian armed forces and as such is a prisoner of war and must be treated with humanity.”
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