DONETSK, June 30. /TASS/. Denis Pushilin, the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic has said the European Court of Human Rights didn’t reach out to DPR about mercenaries that are sentenced to death.

He said it was cynical of the ECHR to appeal to Russia.

"First, the Russian Federation officially recognized the DPR as a sovereign and independent state. Therefore, the only way for Russia to participate in decisions by courts of law in our country in some way is to reach an appropriate agreement with the government of the republic. And in general, it’s extremely cynical of the ECHR to appeal to Russia, because it’s no longer a member of the Council of Europe because of the deliberate inhumane actions of the countries participating in this organization, which are also members of NATO," Pushilin told TASS.

He said the court didn’t reach out directly to the republic.

"In addition, for more than eight years this institution has cynically ignored all appeals sent by residents of the Donetsk People’s Republic to compensate them for the damage caused by the criminal actions of Ukraine: barbaric shelling, economic and transport blockade, stripping them of their retirement pensions and social benefits," he said.

It was earlier reported that the ECHR granted interim measures in the cases of two British mercenaries that were sentenced to death in the DPR. The court called on Russia to "ensure that the death penalty imposed on the applicants was not carried out."

On June 9, a DPR court sentenced the two British men, Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, together with a Moroccan, Brahim Saadoun, to death for fighting alongside the Ukrainian Armed Forces as mercenaries. The DPR’s Prosecutor General’s Office earlier said that testimony obtained from Pinner, Aslin and Saadoun proved their involvement in crimes such as forcible seizure of power and mercenary activities.