ZAGREB, 16 August, 2022 - Croat Vjekoslav Prebeg has pleaded not guilty to charges of being a mercenary at a court of the unrecognized Donetsk People’s Republic, while the pro-Russian separatist authorities accuse him of being a Ukrainian mercenary who took part in efforts to oust them, which is why he faces the death penalty.
The Slovenian News Agency (STA) said on Tuesday that Prebeg had stated that his activities on the battlefield had been limited to monitoring enemy positions, and he said that he had not been included in armed conflicts against Russian forces.
Russian media outlets that are allowed to cover the trial, which started on 15 August, quoted Prebeg as saying that he had used firearms last time before the start of the war in Ukraine, STA says.
Apart from Prebeg, Swede Matthias Gustafsson and Briton John Harding are also indicted on the counts of attempting to "forcibly seize power or forcibly retain power" and "participation of a mercenary in an armed conflict or hostilities," according to the Russian Izvestia newspaper.
They face the death penalty.
Another two Brits in this trial are Andrew Hill and Dylan Healy.
All of them pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to reports released by Russian media outlets.
The next court hearing in their case is scheduled for October, the Interfax news agency reported, citing a statement by the separatists’ court.
Russia's media outlets have released footage of the trial, showing the five men in a cage in the courtroom.
On 10 August, Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Ministry strongly condemned the indictment against Croatian national Prebeg, who has been detained in the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk.
Croatia "rejects the indictment and does not consider it to be legally sound because it is contrary to international law and conventions on the treatment of captured civilians and prisoners of war," the ministry said in a press release.
The ministry and competent services are in constant contact with the Ukrainian authorities and other partners in order to shed light on the case and have Prebeg released, the ministry said on 10 August, adding that it has been in touch with the detainee's family.
