Family of captured UK fighter says Moscow breaking Geneva rules

The family of a captured British guy fighting in Ukraine accused Russia on Wednesday of breaking the Geneva Convention after it broadcast a “distressing” video of him.

Russian kingdom TV aired a video on Monday of Aiden Aslin and any other captured British fighter identified as Shaun Pinner asking to be exchanged for Viktor Medvedchuk, a wealthy Ukrainian businessman near President Vladimir Putin.

“The video of Aiden speaking below duress and having actually suffered bodily injuries is deeply distressing,” Aslin’s circle of relatives said in a declaration launched by using his local MP Robert Jenrick.

“Using images and videos of prisoners of war is in contravention of the Geneva Convention and must stop.”

The statement said the family was in touch with the UK Foreign Office “to ensure the Russian authorities meet their obligations to prisoners of war under international law”.

It added that it was seeking “to secure the release of Aiden and Shaun”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told MPs on Wednesday: “I hope that he was treated with care and compassion.”

He also said he “thoroughly” echoed Jenrick’s assessment that the video represented “a flagrant breach of the Geneva Convention” and that “treating any prisoner of war in this manner is illegal”.

Aslin moved to Ukraine in 2018 and joined the Ukrainian Marines four years in the past. He become captured closing week earlier than appearing within the video, looking haggard.

Along with Pinner, he appealed for a prisoner change with Putin’s best friend Medvedchuk, who turned into recently arrested in Ukraine.