{{Short description|British foreign volunteer (born 1974)}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Unreliable sources|date=July 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}} {{Infobox military person | image = | caption = | name = Shaun Pinner | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1974}} | birth_place = Bedfordshire, United Kingdom<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-14 |title=Second British soldier captured in Mariupol is paraded on Russian TV|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/17/second-british-soldier-captured-ukraine-mariupol-paraded-shaun-pinner-russian-tv|work=The Guardian}}</ref> | allegiance = {{Flagu|United Kingdom}}<br>{{flag|United Nations}}<br>{{flag|Ukraine}} | branch = {{tree list}} *{{army|United Kingdom}} *{{navy|Ukraine}} **{{marines|Ukraine}} {{tree list/end}} | service_years = | unit = {{flagicon image|Нарукавний знак 36 ОБрМП.png|border=|size=20px}} 36th Separate Marine Brigade | battles = {{Tree list}} * UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina * War against the Islamic State<ref name='dhabi'/><!-- allegiance not stated in the sources --> * Russo-Ukrainian War ** Russian invasion of Ukraine *** Siege of Mariupol{{POW}} {{tree list/end}} }}
'''Shaun Pinner''' is a former soldier of the British Army who joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces as a contracted fighter in 2018 and fought during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. During the siege of Mariupol, he was captured and sentenced to death in a show trial by the Supreme Court of the self-proclaimed statelet Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), but was freed in September 2022 in a prisoner exchange. In December 2022 he was awarded the state ‘Order of Courage, 3rd Degree’ in a decree by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for “selfless acts in the defence and sovereignty of Ukraine”.
==Biography== Being a Ukrainian Marine, Pinner was legally a protected person under the Geneva Conventions as a prisoner of war.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who are the British fighters captured by Russian forces? |url=https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-news-live-russia-sets-out-unconditional-priority-of-war-as-putins-forces-enter-severodonetsk-12541713?postid=3739550 |publisher=Sky News}}</ref> However, Russian state media has portrayed him as a mercenary. Another British citizen, Aiden Aslin and the Moroccan Saadoun Brahim, received identical verdicts in the same trial.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-14 |title=Britons sentenced to death after 'show trial' in Russian-occupied Ukraine|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/09/britons-sentenced-to-death-russian-occupied-ukraine-aiden-aslin-shaun-pinner|work=The Guardian}}</ref> British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss tweeted that: "The judgement against them is an egregious breach of the Geneva convention."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-06-11|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/11/family-shaun-pinner-sentenced-death-russia-call-for-cooperation|work=The Guardian|title=Family of UK man sentenced to death by Russia call for cooperation}}</ref> The defence attorney did not even ask for an explanation as to why the existing arguments against mercenary status were not been taken into consideration, simply saying instead that "the guilt of my client has been fully established".<ref>Pinner’s defence to appeal death sentence on grounds of humanity. dan-news.info (pro-Russian site)</ref>
{{quote box | width = 30% | align = left | quote = I'm married to a Ukrainian. I have got every right to be here (...) It’s taken me a long time to integrate here, so the guys know I’m not a war tourist or war junkie. | source = Shaun Pinner in an interview with Sky News while on the frontline.<ref name='dhabi'/> }}
Pinner was described by his family as a well-respected soldier within the British Army, where he served in the Royal Anglian Regiment.<ref name='i'>{{Cite web| date=2022-06-10|title=Who are Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner? How the British men sentenced to death sought a new life in Ukraine|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/world/aiden-aslin-shaun-pinner-new-life-ukraine-1679458|publisher=i}}</ref> He spent nine years in this regiment with a spotless record.<ref name='ua'>{{cite web|date=2022-06-10|title=Who are the foreigners sentenced to death by Russian proxies? |website=english.nv.ua|url=https://english.nv.ua/nation/who-are-the-foreigners-sentenced-to-death-by-russian-proxies-50248941.html}}</ref> He also volunteered to fight against ISIS in the Middle East and served with the United Nations mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina.<ref name='dhabi'>{{Cite web|date=2022-06-10 |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2022/06/10/shaun-pinner-soldier-facing-firing-squad-said-before-invasion-he-was-no-war-tourist/|title=Shaun Pinner: soldier facing firing squad said before invasion he was 'no war tourist'|publisher=The National (Abu Dhabi)}}</ref>
After retirement, Pinner was employed for some time as a waste manager in Watford, Hertfordshire, working for about 16 hours a day.<ref name='ua'/><ref name='i'/> Pinner moved to Ukraine with his Ukrainian wife before joining the nation's armed forces in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://arab.news/z2rsm|title=Over 150 British veterans of Afghan war going to Ukraine|publisher=Arab News|date=2022-03-01}}<!-- I think this is not "related to the Saudi Arabian government" --></ref> Being an experienced soldier, Pinner was made a squad commander in Ukraine.<ref name='ua'/>
At the time of his capture, he was due to complete his three-year military contract later in 2022 and was hoping for a humanitarian role.<ref name='bbc'>{{Cite web|date=2022-06-12|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-61770886|title=Who are Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner?|publisher=BBC}}</ref> Pinner considers Ukraine to be his adopted country over the last four years, calling Mariupol his home city.<ref name='i'/>
On 29 June 2022, Pinner appealed against his death sentence, requesting for it to be changed to life imprisonment.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} The appeal was to be reviewed within a two-week period; if rejected, Pinner would, according to his lawyer, request to be pardoned by the head of the DPR.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-29 |title=Приговоренный к казни британский наемник попросит о помиловании |url=https://ren.tv/news/v-mire/993843-prigovorennyi-k-kazni-britanskii-naemnik-poprosit-o-pomilovanii |access-date=2022-06-30 |website=РЕН ТВ |language=ru}}</ref> A day later the European Court of Human Rights told Russia to ensure that the death penalty was not carried out on Pinner and fellow prisoner Aiden Aslin.<ref name="Reuters">{{Cite news |date=2022-06-30 |title=European court tells Russia to ensure two Britons do not face death penalty |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/european-court-tells-russia-ensure-two-britons-do-not-face-death-penalty-2022-06-30/ |access-date=2022-06-30}}</ref> Russia, however, said it would no longer comply with the ECHR's prescriptions,<ref name="Reuters"/> although Russia only formally withdrew from the court in September 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rights at risk: Russia's withdrawal from the ECtHR |url=https://www.openglobalrights.org/rights-at-risk-russias-withdrawal-from-the-ecthr/ |access-date=2022-06-30 |website=OpenGlobalRights |language=en |archive-date=June 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628064920/https://www.openglobalrights.org/rights-at-risk-russias-withdrawal-from-the-ecthr/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Pinner was released in a prisoner exchange in September 2022.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62988234 | title=Britons held by Russian forces in Ukraine released | work=BBC News | date=September 22, 2022 }}</ref>
== See also == * Russian information war against Ukraine * Aiden Aslin * Brahim Saaudun
== References == {{reflist}}
{{Mariupol in the Russo-Ukrainian War}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinner, Shaun}} Category:Living people Category:1974 births Category:Ukrainian military personnel of the Russian invasion of Ukraine Category:Prisoners of war held by Russia Category:Siege of Mariupol Category:British prisoners sentenced to death Category:Military personnel from Bedfordshire Category:People from Watford Category:Royal Anglian Regiment soldiers Category:English expatriates in Ukraine Category:Pro-Ukraine foreign volunteers in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Category:21st-century British Army personnel Category:20th-century British Army personnel