The Moscow-loyal troops in eastern Ukraine accused Paul Urey of being a mercenary. According to his family, however, the Briton was out working as a humanitarian worker when he was arrested by separatists. Now Urey is dead - according to the occupiers, he died of a variety of chronic diseases.
In eastern Ukraine, Briton Paul Urey died in captivity of pro-Russian separatists. This was announced by a representative of the separatists, Darya Morozova, according to the Interfax agency. A medical examination of the man after his arrest in April revealed a number of chronic diseases such as diabetes, lung and kidney weakness and several cardiovascular problems, said Morosowa. "Given this diagnosis and the stress, he passed away on July 10."
The exact circumstances of death cannot be independently verified. Despite "the seriousness of the crimes" he was accused of, according to the occupier's spokeswoman, Urey received "appropriate medical care" in detention.
According to media reports and his family, the deceased Briton was traveling with an aid transport in the embattled region of Zaporizhia in south-eastern Ukraine, where he was arrested by troops loyal to Moscow. Urey's mother also said that her son suffered from diabetes and was dependent on insulin. The Separatists accused him of being a mercenary.
In an interrogation video broadcast on Russian television, Urey stated that he had already fought in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. This information cannot be verified independently either. The UK-based aid organization Presidium Network announced on April 29 that two humanitarian workers it knew, Paul Urey and Dylan Healy, had been captured by the Russian army in southern Ukraine. There they tried to bring a woman and her children to safety.
The separatists sentenced several foreigners to death as mercenaries for the Ukrainian troops. The deceased was not one of those convicted. Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine since February.
