YouTube 'reviewing' video of Ukraine war prisoner Aiden Aslin amid claim it breaks Geneva Convention
YouTube is investigating a video of a British man captured by Russian armed forces after a lawmaker raised the issue in the UK's parliament on Wednesday, calling it a "flagrant breach of the Geneva Conventions".Aiden Aslin, who has lived in Ukraine since 2018, was part of a unit of Ukrainian Marines fighting in the besieged city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine before he was taken prisoner last week after running out of food and ammunition.A spokesperson for Google-owned YouTube told Euronews Next that the video was being "reviewed" and that any videos that breach the company's community guidelines would be "removed… immediately".
In the 44-minute video published on the video sharing platform on Tuesday, a handcuffed Aslin is questioned by Graham Phillips, a British blogger who has previously freelanced for the Russian state-backed broadcaster RT and Russian defence ministry-run Zvezda.Phillips begins the interview by stating that Aslin is not appearing under duress, which he confirms, saying "I wanted this".While it is not possible to independently confirm how Aslin is being treated in captivity, his answers to Phillips's questions appeared to be at odds with his previous public statements on social media."The video of Aiden speaking under duress and having clearly suffered physical injuries is deeply distressing. Using images and videos of prisoners of war is in contravention of the Geneva Convention and must stop," Aslin's family said in a statement tweeted by their local member of parliament, Robert Jenrick.Aslin's family also refuted Russian claims that he had been fighting as a mercenary - claims repeated by Phillips in the video."In 2018, Aiden moved to Ukraine, where he met his girlfriend and eventually settled down in Mykolaiv. Aiden decided to join the Ukrainian marines and has served in his unit for nearly four years. He is not, contrary to the Kremlin’s propaganda, a volunteer, a mercenary or a spy," the family said.
Jenrick raised the video of Aslin during a session of Prime Minister's Questions in the UK parliament on Wednesday, saying he had been "interviewed under duress for propaganda purposes".
"Does [the prime minister] agree that that is a flagrant breach of the Geneva convention, that treating any prisoner of war in that manner is illegal, that the interviewer - Graham Phillips - is in danger of prosecution for war crimes and that any online platform such as YouTube that hosts propaganda videos of that kind should take them down immediately?" the MP asked.
In the 44-minute video published on the video sharing platform on Tuesday, a handcuffed Aslin is questioned by Graham Phillips, a British blogger who has previously freelanced for the Russian state-backed broadcaster RT and Russian defence ministry-run Zvezda.Phillips begins the interview by stating that Aslin is not appearing under duress, which he confirms, saying "I wanted this".While it is not possible to independently confirm how Aslin is being treated in captivity, his answers to Phillips's questions appeared to be at odds with his previous public statements on social media."The video of Aiden speaking under duress and having clearly suffered physical injuries is deeply distressing. Using images and videos of prisoners of war is in contravention of the Geneva Convention and must stop," Aslin's family said in a statement tweeted by their local member of parliament, Robert Jenrick.Aslin's family also refuted Russian claims that he had been fighting as a mercenary - claims repeated by Phillips in the video."In 2018, Aiden moved to Ukraine, where he met his girlfriend and eventually settled down in Mykolaiv. Aiden decided to join the Ukrainian marines and has served in his unit for nearly four years. He is not, contrary to the Kremlin’s propaganda, a volunteer, a mercenary or a spy," the family said.
Jenrick raised the video of Aslin during a session of Prime Minister's Questions in the UK parliament on Wednesday, saying he had been "interviewed under duress for propaganda purposes".
"Does [the prime minister] agree that that is a flagrant breach of the Geneva convention, that treating any prisoner of war in that manner is illegal, that the interviewer - Graham Phillips - is in danger of prosecution for war crimes and that any online platform such as YouTube that hosts propaganda videos of that kind should take them down immediately?" the MP asked.
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