The Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) sentences to death two Britons and a Moroccan who had joined Ukrainian forces on charges of terrorism, mercenary activities, and attempting to overthrow the DPR’s government.

A court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in Ukraine found the three fighters guilty of seeking the violent overthrow of power, an offense punishable by death in the unrecognized eastern republic. The men were also convicted of mercenary activities and terrorism.

The mother of one of the accused, Ang Wood, said she needed “time to take everything in” after learning of the news while watching TV at their family home in Newark-on-Trent. His family, who met officials at the Ukrainian Embassy in London yesterday, demanded he be “treated with respect” and urged ministers to help bring the two men home safely.

In a statement, they said: “We love Aiden with all our hearts. He and Shaun, as members of Ukrainian armed forces, should be treated with respect just like any other prisoners of war. They are not, and never were, mercenaries.

“We hope that this sentence will be overturned and beseech the governments of the UK and Ukraine to do everything in their power to have them returned to us safely, and soon. “We can only imagine what they are going through right now. This is a very upsetting development and we ask that our privacy is respected at this time.”

A firing squad is normally composed of several military men, all of whom are usually instructed to fire simultaneously, thus preventing both disruption of the process by one member and identification of who fired the lethal shot.