British Aid Worker Captured By DPR Separatists Dies In Their Custody
By Donald Standeford, Correspondent - Follow -
Date Published: July 16, 2022 12:00AM UTC
Last Modified: July 16, 2022 12:00AM UTC
UKRAINE - A British aid worker who was captured by Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Russian separatists in April and accused of being a mercenary has died while in detention, according to BBC News.
45-year-old Paul Urey, from Warrington, Cheshire, suffered from type 1 diabetes according to his mother and required insulin.
According to the Human rights Ombudsman in the Donetsk People’s Republic Daria Morozova, the first medical examination for the British aid worker was diagnosed with insulin-dependent diabetes, respiratory system damage, kidney damage, and multiple cardiovascular system diseases.
Morozova also said that he was in a "depressed psychological state due to indifference to his fate in his homeland," and stated that Britain had not sent the medical supplies that he needed through the International Committee of the Red Cross.
"For our part, despite the severity of the alleged crime, Paul Urey was provided with appropriate medical care," she stated.
DPR officials said that Urey died while in their custody on July 10th, 2022 due to his underlying health conditions, as well as "stress".
The DPR said that they had contacted British officials and informed them that Urey had been taken captive, but said that there had been "no reaction from the UK".
The UK is now probing Ukraine and the government of Russia for clarification regarding the death of the aid worker who was reportedly taken prisoner along with another man named Dylan Healy, while attempting to carry out a humanitarian rescue mission on April 25th, 2022.
The two men were trying to get into territory controlled by Russia via a checkpoint in Zaporizhzhia in order to rescue a woman and her family that had been trapped due to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The non-profit organization Presidium Network, whose mission is to provide 'support to communities in crisis' said that Urey had spent eight years as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan, and had been living in Leyland, Lancashire before he decided to travel to Ukraine.
