Paul Urey had been working to help a woman and her two children evacuate when he was captured and taken to Russian-backed territory.
A British aid worker detained by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine and accused of being a mercenary has died due to “illness and stress”, according to Russian state media reports.
Paul Urey was captured in eastern Ukraine in late April and charged with “mercenary activities” by separatists in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).
Russian media reports cite DPR ombudsman, Daria Morozova, who wrote on her Telegram account: “British representatives ignored even the possibility of negotiating his return as part of the prisoner exchange procedure.
“Moreover, they did not provide the necessary medical preparations through the Red Cross. Paul Urey was provided with appropriate medical assistance, but given the diagnoses and stress, he died on July 10.”
Mr Urey, from Warrington, was detained alongside fellow Briton Dylan Healy, 22, on 25 April, according to charity Presidium Network. The pair were reportedly attempting to help evacuate a woman and two children from Dniprorudne, in the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine.
Organisation founder, Dominik Bryne, said the men were working as independent volunteers and Mr Urey had diabetes and there were concerns for his welfare, according to The Independent.
They have been accused of being mercenaries, which can carry a death sentence for those found guilty in the separatist regions which are not recognised under international law.
In April, Mr Urey’s mother, Linda, said she was living her “worst nightmare” after news her son had been captured, saying she had begged him not to return to Ukraine after his first visit.
I begged him not to because… Russia’s bad,” she told Sky News.
In May, Mr Urey was shown on Russian television in handcuffs and said he travelled to Ukraine to see if the “refugee crisis was really as bad as what they say on the news” in Britain.
He said he took photos of a bridge that had been blown up to show “evidence that the media in England is lying”. He added that he had travelled to Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya in the past.
His mother said after the interview she believed he was speaking under duress.
After the interview, his mother Linda said she believes he was speaking under duress
She said in a statement: “I have watched the interview on Russian TV of my son Paul Urey.
“This is physically my son, but he is not acting in his natural way; his words are too matter of fact and his facial expressions make me not believe what he is saying. Normally he speaks fast and to the point.
“I know my son like every mother, and this is not him being natural.”
Fellow Britons, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, as well as Moroccan man, Saaudun Brahim, have also been sentenced to death in the DPR for being mercenaries. They deny the charges and are appealing the verdict
