Aiden Daniel John Mark Aslin (; born 7 January 1994) is a British citizen who was captured by Russian forces in April 2022 while fighting as a Ukrainian Marine in Mariupol. He was sentenced to death on 9 June by authorities of the Russian-backed breakaway unrecognised puppet state, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), for "mercenary activities and committing actions aimed at seizing power and overthrowing the constitutional order of the DPR." He was released in a prisoner exchange in September 2022.
Before that, in 2015, Aslin travelled to Rojava, also known as the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). There, he served as a foreign volunteer for the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG), fighting against the Islamic State. Aslin was briefly detained upon his return to the United Kingdom. In 2018, he travelled to Ukraine and settled in Mykolaiv, and has applied for Ukrainian citizenship.
Biography
Aslin was born in 1994. He lived in Newark, Nottinghamshire and worked as a carer before travelling to Rojava to join the YPG in 2015.
From 2015 to 2016 Aslin fought with the YPG International in Tel Abyad and al-Hasakah. He also participated in the 2015 al-Hawl offensive against Daesh. He returned to the United Kingdom on 3 February 2016 and was arrested upon arrival. Aslin gained some media attention for protesting his treatment by Nottinghamshire Police in their investigation of his activities pursuant to the Terrorism Act "in the preparation to fight against Daesh" and possessing "articles for terrorist purposes in Iraq/Syria". The YPG is not a proscribed terror group in the UK and have received extensive support from the UK government, as a major ally of the US-led coalition force in Syria, but this did not protect Aslin from legal difficulties upon returning home. Charges were ultimately dropped and he returned to Rojava in 2016. Aslin has been critical of the international community's lack of support for the YPG, of the Turkish occupation of parts of Rojava, and of the sale of British weapons to Turkey for attacks against the Kurds.
In 2018, Aslin travelled to Ukraine and enlisted with the Ukrainian 36th Naval Infantry Brigade. In February 2022 he was deployed to Mariupol. On 12 April 2022 he surrendered to Russian forces who had been besieging the city since 24 February 2022. He appeared to have sustained injuries while in captivity and was interviewed on 18 April by British freelance journalist Graham Phillips. Geoffrey Robertson, a human rights barrister, called the interview a breach of the Geneva Conventions done for "propaganda purposes". Concerns about Aslin's treatment were subsequently raised by MP Robert Jenrick in the UK parliament.
After a complaint from Aslin's family, through their MP Robert Jenrick, Phillips' interview with Aslin was removed from YouTube. Aslin has since given several interviews, and a YouTube channel in his name was started. The channel was later terminated in August of 2022 'after a legal complaint'.
Criminal proceedings
On 30 April, the prosecutor-general for the illegal Russian proxy DPR falsely designated Aslin and two others as mercenaries (Article 47 of the Additional Protocol I of the Geneva Convention and the United Nations Mercenary Convention), indicated they could face the death penalty. DPR accused Aslin and two others of acting as mercenaries, beginning an investigation of "the commission of crimes by a group of persons (part 2 of article 34 of the Criminal Code of the DPR), on the forcible seizure of power or the forcible retention of power (Article 323 of the Criminal Code of the DPR) and on mercenarism (Article 440 Criminal Code of the DPR)", indicating they could face the death penalty if convicted. On 5 May, Aslin gave a digitally recorded statement to prosecutors that he fully understood what he was accused of, that he agreed with it fully "up to the part about murdering civilians" (which he denied), that he fought on the territory of the DPR, that he fought against the soldiers of the DPR in peaceful settlements, and that he used arms and weapons systems alongside other foreign nationals. Lawyers assigned to the three men during interrogations by the Russian military later made comments to the media expressing their support for the accession of Odesa, Kherson and Mykolaiv into the Russian Federation, support for the war against Ukraine, and support for the return of the death penalty to Russia. On 27 May, the prosecutor's office completed its investigation and announced charges on 6 June, stating the following: