A Russian-backed separatist leader in eastern Ukraine has indicated that three foreigners sentenced to death for "mercenary activities" could be executed in secrecy if their appeals against their sentences are denied, Russian state-run TASS news agency said.
Denis Pushilin, head of a Russia-backed separatist group in Ukraine's Donetsk region, was also quoted as saying on July 13 that the timing of any executions would be up to the penitentiary service.
"The penitentiary service will be guided by its internal decisions," Pushilin said. "The execution of the sentences shall not be made public."
Pushilin told Russian TV that "all the foreigners filed appeals.”
"We are awaiting a court session. If the court finds this punitive measure and the sentence to be appropriate, then their cases will be handed over to the corresponding agency to carry out the verdict," he said.
A day earlier, the Russia-backed separatists lifted a moratorium on the death penalty, weeks after handing down the death sentence to Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and Moroccan Saaudun Brahim, who were captured on the battlefield.
All three men say they were serving in the Ukrainian military when they were captured by separatists while fighting Russian forces. They are currently awaiting a decision in the appeal process.
Two more Britons who were captured on July 1 have been charged with carrying out "mercenary activities" as well, and a pro-Kremlin website said the men -- aid worker Dylan Healy and military volunteer Andrew Hill -- would face the same charges as the others.
The separatists are also holding other foreign fighters, including two men from the United States.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not exclude the possibility that the men would be shot and said Russia would not interfere in the jurisdiction of what he referred to as the Donetsk People's Republic, which Moscow recognized as independent three days before launching its invasion of Ukraine.
Only Russia and Syria have recognized the area of Donetsk as independent.
Britain and other Western governments expressed outrage after Aslin, Pinner, and Brahim were sentenced to death.
The British Foreign Office said on July 2 it was in constant contact with the government of Ukraine on their cases and supported Ukraine’s efforts to get them and the other two Britons released.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on June 30 warned Moscow it must ensure the death penalty is not carried out. Moscow has said the ECHR's rulings have no bearing on Moscow since parliament ended the Strasbourg court's jurisdiction in Russia in a measure passed in June.
The British government insisted that as legitimate members of the Ukrainian armed forces, they should be treated as prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions.