The U.K. government stated on Thursday that it was “disturbed” by Ukraine’s assertions that a British humanitarian worker who died in the custody of Russian-backed rebels may have been subjected to “unimaginable torture.”
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement sent to AFP, “We are alarmed by reports that humanitarian worker Paul Urey may have been mistreated in captivity.”
The ministry stated, “It is imperative that we receive the results of a complete autopsy as soon as possible.”
The statement said, “Our sympathies are with Paul Urey’s family during this difficult time.”
Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, tweeted on Wednesday that the Russians had returned Paul Urey’s body with “evidence of possible terrible torture,” which he described as “a heinous war crime.”
Urey volunteered to assist in the evacuation of Ukrainians shortly after the April invasion by Russia.
Later that month, he was caught and died on July 10 while being held by Moscow-backed separatists, who claimed he had chronic illnesses and a “depressed psychological state.”
Paul Urey Presidium Network/Handout as reported by Reuters
The United Nations Security Council and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe discussed the death of the father-of-two with Type 1 diabetes.
In July, the then-foreign minister of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss, expressed “horror” at the news of Urey’s death. She stated that the Kremlin bore “all responsibility” as he was “in the possession of a Russian agent in Ukraine.”
Thursday, Linda Urey, Urey’s mother, posted on Facebook that her son’s body is in Kiev. She implored her fans to “help me retrieve him.”
In a separate tweet accompanied by images of her family, she added, “Please bring my kid home.”
Please bring my son home xx
Wednesday, September 7, 2022, posting by Linda Susan Urey
His 17- and 20-year-old daughters are utilizing crowdfunding to pay for the repatriation of his body.
Russia denied any blame for Urey’s demise, arguing that Britain should have engaged with the rebels.
The separatists alleged that Urey, a native of Warrington in northeastern England, was a mercenary soldier.
Urey was arrested at a checkpoint near the city of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine and incarcerated in the Donetsk separatist stronghold in eastern Ukraine.
Dylan Healy, a fellow Briton seized alongside him, is on trial in Donetsk together with four other foreigners, accused of being a mercenary and facing the possibility of the death penalty.
Several foreign nationals have been captured by pro-Russian rebels, who label them as mercenaries.
Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, both British, were condemned to death by separatist authorities in the stronghold of Donetsk in June.
Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, two other detained Americans, have not yet been charged.