Who is Aiden Aslin? Family of British fighter captured in Ukraine appeal for safety after pictures show him beaten and handcuffed

The family of a British man, identified as Aiden Aslin, has requested him to be treated humanely after allegedly being held while fighting for Ukraine.

According to Russian authorities, Aiden Aslin, originally from Newark in Nottinghamshire, has been apprehended in the besieged city of Mariupol.

On April 12, his family informed the BBC that his group was about to surrender to Russian soldiers.

Aslin has now been seen bound in handcuffs in images and video recordings. Aslin is seen in photos with injuries on his face and wrists bound in handcuffs. He may have been hit with a blunt weapon, such as a rifle butt, as evidenced by a huge red mark on his forehead.

His mother, Ang Wood, told BBC:

"I believe it is him in the photographs. We just want him to be treated according to the Geneva Conventions. We are just hoping that maybe there can be some sort of prisoner exchange. We don't know what else to do right now except keep pressing the Foreign Office."

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Who is Aiden Aslin and what else did his family say?

28-year-old Aiden Aslin shifted to Ukraine in 2018 after falling in love with a woman belonging to Mykolaiv. She is now his fiancé.

Aslin, who holds dual-nationality, served with the 36th Brigade Ukrainian Marines when he was captured. Aslin, a former care worker, has previously fought alongside Kurdish armed units against ISIS in Syria between 2015 and 2016.

While talking to the outlet, his grandmother, Pamela Hall, said she never expected him to get captured but thought he would rather die fighting.

"Obviously I didn't want that, I wanted the war to end and for him to go home to his fiancée."

Before getting captured, Aslin had been battling to defend Mariupol with his unit during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Hall added:

"I think all the guys should be treated as prisoners of war according to the Geneva Conventions; I appreciate it's opposing forces, but they're all human beings. We are all just hoping and praying for his safety."

As per BBC, a video is being broadcast on Russian television in which the captured 28-year-old is being questioned.

The interviewer initially asked if he knew Russian, to which he responded in Russian with "50/50."

He then asks if Aslin had killed anyone or seen killing anyone in his presence. To this, he responded in English:

"I didn't do any fighting."

The news comes after a Facebook post on April 11, which mentioned that the last Ukrainian soldiers defending Mariupol said they were “running out of ammunition” and expected to be killed or taken prisoner soon.