A BRIT dubbed Vladimir Putin’s “Lord Haw Haw” has been given official sanctuary in Russia after years of spreading Kremlin propaganda.
Former YouTuber Graham Phillips was hit with UK Government sanctions in 2022 after he was accused of spending his career as a Kremlin puppet and interrogating a British Prisoner of War.
Brit Graham Phillips has been given official sanctuary in Russia after years of spreading Kremlin propagandaX/@RussianEmbassy
X/@RussianEmbassyThe moment Phillips signed his documents to be granted Russian asylum[/caption]
Phillips was hit with UK Government sanctions in 2022 after he was accused of spending his career as a Kremlin puppet and interrogating a British Prisoner of WarAlamy
Phillips was widely condemned for an interview he did with UK PoW Aiden Aslin after he had been captured by Russia
Nottingham-born Phillips describes himself as an independent journalist who acts with “complete integrity” on all stories.
But he was banned from Ukraine in 2014 and widely condemned in April 2022 after he interviewed Putin’s PoW Aiden Aslin.
MP Robert Jenrick accused him of committing a war crime with the interview as Aslin – serving in Ukraine‘s military at the time – was handcuffed and covered in bruises.
Russian troops snatched Aslin as he was fighting as a Ukrainian Marine in Mariupol at the start of the invasion.
Jenrick said the interview, which was uploaded to Phillips’ YouTube channel, was a “flagrant breach of the Geneva Convention” and a propaganda piece.
The 45-minute video saw Phillips label Aslin as a “mercenary” and told him he could face the death penalty for helping Ukraine.
Aiden spoke on Phillips after he was released saying: “He spoke to me like my fate had been sealed.
“It was like he knew I was going to be executed.”
In the two years since he was sanctioned following Vlad’s land grab Phillips is believed to have stayed close to Russia.
This week his loyalty to the Kremlin earned him an official passport as he took asylum in Russia.
The official Russian Embassy to the UK congratulated Phillips on his asylum through a post on X.
They shared a video of Phillips being given his Russian passport and signing legal documents confirming his asylum.
The footage was followed by a statement that detailed his situation while blasting the UK Government.
It said: “He had to apply for it while being extrajudicially sanctioned by his own UK Government for telling the truth about crimes of the Kiev regime in Donbass in an act of gross violation of freedom of speech.
“He was thus left in legal limbo, cut off from his funds in Britain and effectively prevented from travelling to his home country that he never wanted to abandon in the first place.
“Now, Graham Phillips can persevere in his brave journalistic mission without feeling almost stateless.
“We wish him the best of luck in this noble endeavour.”
East2WestPoW Aslin was used in Russian propaganda footage as he was beaten up in prison[/caption]
Phillips looked happy as he was handed his Russian passportX/@RussianEmbassy
Phillips tried to fight the sanctions in 2023 but a court rejected his appeal at the start of the year.
Mr Justice Johnson labelled the Brit’s punishment for supporting Russia as “legitimate, rational and proportionate”.
When he made the final verdict, Mr Johnson said: “The claimant decided to set his face against an overwhelming international consensus.
“To align himself with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to travel to the frontline, and to help Russia fight its propaganda war.
“He has not shown any journalistic responsibility or ethics.
“His actions directly support Russia in its policies or actions that destabilise Ukraine.”
After he was given the sanctions, Phillips was quickly compared to a number of other men and given the moniker of Lord Haw Haw.
During World War II a number of people were handed the nickname for spreading far-right Nazi propaganda from Germany to the UK.
One of the most well-known men to be dubbed Lord Haw-Haw was William Joyce – an American-born facist.
He lived in England until the start of the deadly war when he moved to Germany before gaining citizenship in 1940.
He was seen as the voice of the British Union of Fascists throughout the fighting.
Following his capture he was sentenced to death after being convicted of high treason.
Phillips has been linked to British Nazi sympathiser William Joyce, better known as Lord Haw-Haw