British aid worker Paul Urie, 45, has died while being held hostage by pro-Russian separatists in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), a local official in the rebel-held territory said.
His mother, Linda Urie, said she was “absolutely devastated” and described the separatists as “murderers”.
Posting on Facebook, she said: ‘I’m really angry. I told you he was a very sick man, I told you [you] he was diabetic, I was praying on Sky News that they would give me my son back. Why did you let him die? I want answers. Why didn’t you release him?
“I hate you all. I’m just mad, I really am. I’m angry, very very very very angry. Murderers, you are.
On April 29, the non-profit organization Presidium Network reported that Yuri was detained at a checkpoint in southern Ukraine along with fellow Brit Dylan Healy.
The two men were later accused of “mercenary activities” by separatists in the rebel-held DPR.
Daria Morozova, the DNR’s inmate rights ombudsman, wrote on Telegram on Friday that Yurei died on July 10 as a result of “illness and stress.”
“Even during the first medical examination, Paul Yuri was diagnosed with a number of chronic diseases, including insulin-dependent diabetes, damage to the respiratory system, kidneys and a number of diseases of the cardiovascular system,” added Morozova.
“For our part, despite the gravity of the alleged crime, Paul Urie was given appropriate medical attention.”
Earlier, Linda Urie told the media that her son is diabetic and needs insulin.
In addition, Morozova claimed that the British Foreign Office did not provide “any reaction” to Yuri’s capture, despite being informed of his situation. She claims that Yuri is a “professional fighter” who has participated in conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, leading “military operations”.
Dominic Byrne, the co-founder and chief operating officer of the Presidium Network, said at the time of Yuri’s capture that he was working independently in Ukraine as a humanitarian aid volunteer.
In early May, Yuri appeared on Russian state television in handcuffs. In the footage, which his mother said was made under duress, he criticized the UK government and criticized British media coverage of the war.
Yuri’s sisters previously told Sky News: ‘We’re coping at the moment. We really don’t know anything, like if he’ll be okay there, if he’ll go home, or if he’ll go back to Ukraine as a prisoner exchange.
“We just don’t know, so we’re preparing for the worst.”
Yuri is the first known foreigner to die in pro-Russian separatist custody since the start of the war.
Last month, two Britons and a Moroccan national caught fighting in the Ukrainian army were sentenced to death by a court in Donetsk in what officials described as a “disgusting Soviet-era show trial”.
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