Donetsk separatist court charges 5 foreigners as mercenaries, says 3 face death penalty - Russian media

(Reuters) - A Russian-backed separatist court in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk charged five foreign nationals captured fighting with Ukrainian forces with being mercenaries on Monday, saying three could face the death penalty, Russian media reported.

U.K. national John Harding, Croatian Vjekoslav Prebeg and Swedish citizen Mathias Gustafsson, who were captured in and around the port city of Mariupol, face a possible death sentence, Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported.

TASS cited the judge as saying that the trial would resume in early October.

(Reporting by Reuters)