The British fighter Aiden Aslin, who along with Shaun Pinner was sentenced to death today by a Russian-backed court, said that "God will be the one to judge him when the time comes."

Speaking to reporters after his sentencing, he said: "I hoped the sentence would be much fairer by judging the circumstances in which I assisted the investigation and also because I surrendered to the Donetsk People's Republic.

"I would like it to be different, but God will be the one to judge me when the time comes."

Aslin, 28, and Pinner, 48, have been charged as mercenaries, another Russian news agency reported,

reports .

They were captured in Mariupol in April during intense fighting for control of the port city, before appearing in court in the separatist People's Republic of Donetsk (DPR).

It is learned that they have received "training to carry out terrorist activities".

A third man, Moroccan citizen Saaudun Brahim, is also said to have been sentenced to death.