Brahim Saadoune إبراهيم سعدون | |
---|---|
Born | Meknes, Morocco | August 21, 2000
Allegiance | Ukraine Morocco |
Years of service | 2021–present (Ukraine) |
Unit | 36th Separate Marine Brigade[1] |
Battles/wars |
Brahim Saadoune (Arabic: إبراهيم سعدون, romanized: Ibrāhīm Saʻdūn; born August 21, 2000)[a] is a Moroccan former student of Kyiv Polytechnic Institute who joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces as a fighter-volunteer. After being captured he was sentenced to death in a show trial by the Supreme Court of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).
He was convicted for serving as a mercenary and terrorism. Morocco's National Human Rights Council said the sentence was illegimate and not up to international standards, also saying that Brahim had been placed under extraordinary circumstances of coercion.[2][3]
Early life, education, military service
Brahim Saadoune is a Moroccan who moved to Ukraine to study Aerospace Engineering and Space Science at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Faculty of Aerodynamic and Space Technologies in 2019.[4] He was attracted to the quality of education for the cost.[2] After he arrived in Ukraine, he spent a year in military training as a requirement to aerospace technology studies. As a consequence, Brahim was given Ukrainian nationality, according to his family,[5] in addition to his Moroccan citizenship.[6]
While at the university, he met a number of Ukrainian nationals who became his friends, especially in the underground club scene.[7] Brahim is described by his friends as an educated and friendly student, fluent in three languages and with basic knowledge of other two. He was able to bind people to him with his humor and knowledge. Friends say he felt so connected to Ukraine that he was willing to die for the country. He understood the risks and was ready to accept the consequences.[8]
In November 2021, Brahim postponed his studies to volunteer as an enlisted member in the Ukrainian armed forces, signing a contract. His girlfriend says in a interview that he did not talk much about this decision in advance.[9][6] He joined the army to fight "injustice", as well as to get military experience, which according to his friends was important because his dad was a soldier.[10][2] In the army, he served as a driver and a translator, since he had knowledge of Russian, Ukrainian, French, Arabic, and Berber.[11]
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
In the months before the invasion, he was deployed to Mariupol, serving in the 36th Separate Marine Brigade. Before the war, Ukraine was a popular country to study and Moroccans were the second largest group of foreign students in the country (after Indian). When the Russian invasion began, Morocco launched a major recall, and he was supposed to have been repatriated via Poland.[12] According to the Moroccan government, most of students have returned to Morocco.[8]
After the invasion started, he fought alongside Ukrainian forces in the besieged city of Mariupol.[6] Brahim was captured by Russian forces in mid April 2022, when his unit attempted an unsuccessful breakout out of Maripuol. Other sources say he was captured March 12 in the Volnovakha district of Donetsk region, a city that was destroyed by bombing.[10] After this, a video of an interrogation was played on Russian Channel One Russia, where he was portrayed as a mercenary.[1] Reportedly, in this footage, he said he was very scared at the moment of capture.[13] Brahim Saadoune plead not guilty to "mercenary" charges, but admitted involvement in the fighting.[14]
Trial in the Donetsk People's Republic
After he was captured, he was taken to Donetsk and tried along with two British fighters, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner (who previously helped Brahim over Facebook to join the forces[2]). After a show trial, he was sentenced to death. Brahim's appointed lawyer, Yelena Vesnina, said after the trial that she did not expect the sentence, and called it "very harsh".[15]
Russian state media portrays the accused as 'foreign mercenaries'. However, there is no legal basis to call Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner and Brahim Saaudun mercenaries. They do not fulfil the criteria to be deemed mercenaries as established in Article 47(1) of the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions: A mercenary is not a member of the armed forces of a party to a conflict.
International Bar Association comment.[16]
The legitimacy of the both mercenary status and the death sentence is highly questioned, starting from that DPR is legally seen as part of the Ukraine by the most of the countries and neither Ukraine nor Russia[14] even had the legally possible death penalty at the time of the judgement.[17]
The trio have received identical verdicts in the same trial. The United Nations has said that these death sentences could be a war crime.[18] According to Russia, he has a month to appeal, if successful, the sentence may be reduced to 25 years or life in prison.[19]
On 12 June, Denis Pushilin, head of the DPR, said that no mercy should be shown to Brahim or the other fighters, saying that "They came to Ukraine to kill civilians for money. That's why I don't see any conditions for any mitigation or modification of the sentence."[20] Natalia Nikonorva, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPR chastised Britain and Morocco saying they "do not care at all about the fate of their citizens", reiterating that those countries have not contacted her.[21]
Following the trial, Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov discussed different ways to kill the trio on his popular TV panel show, debating whether to shoot, hang, cut into quarters or release them for ransom.[22]
Ukrainian friends of his called on the UK to help get released, including a Ukrainian friend of his who is now a refugee in the northern UK.[23] According to his girlfriend, Brahim's sentence may be a result of trying to "increase his price", however, she does not know what the Russians want in return for him. She last spoke to him on March 27.[11]
On 13 June, Morocco's Human Rights Council criticized the country's diplomatic silence on the trial, calling for the country to intervene and send lawyers to help Brahim.[3] There has also been an increasing call from the Moroccan public and media professionals questioning the country's diplomatic silence on the issue, with a social media movement developing. Others, groups such as the Moroccan-Russian Friendship Association appealed directly to Russia to intervene on humanitarian grounds.[24] As of mid June, the only comments from the country's diplomatic staff is a unnamed diplomat in Kyiv releasing a brief statement saying that Saadoune is being held by "an entity unrecognised by the United Nations or the Moroccan kingdom".[25]
Some African media reported that Rabat had previously abstained from all of the UN votes between Russia and Ukraine, though the Kingdom had said its votes “cannot be the subject of any interpretation in relation to its position of principle concerning the situation between the Russian Federation and Ukraine”.[26] The King, Mohammed VI of Morocco, sent Vladimir Putin a congratulatory letter on Russia Day, which celebrates the formation of the independent Russian state, but it did not mention Brahim. Some local media speculate that Morocco wants to avoid antagonizing Russia in case Russia aids forces in Western Sahara that Morocco is fighting.[27]
On 15 June, some blocs in Morocco's parliament called on foreign minister Nasser Bourita, who is also responsible for expatriates, to attend a government accountability session, but so far, his office has refused.[28]
On 17 June, the European Court of Human Rights issued an emergency ruling, made on behalf of a representative for Brahim who had petitioned the court on 14 June to issue a stay. The court ordered Russia to ensure the death penalty was not executed. The court stressed that Russia was still obliged to follow the court's rules. The court also said it was considering the issue of jurisdiction, because Brahim is being held by the internationally unrecognized DPR.[29] Earlier in June, the Russian state duma passed a law to end jurisdiction of the court in Russia, but it has not been signed into law as of mid June.[30]
On June 21, Brahim's sister said local press in Morocco and many people on social media had celebrated her brother’s sentence. The Guardian noted that pro-Russian views are more common in the Middle East and Africa than in Europe.[31]
Sources
- ^ a b ""DPR" announces execution of three foreigners — Mariupol defenders: What to happen to Azov". The Page. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Moroccan sentenced to death is a victim of Russian 'games', friends say". The Guardian. June 11, 2022.
- ^ a b Oussama, Aamari. "Brahim Saadoun Sentence: CNDH Calls on Morocco to Intervene". moroccoworldnews.com. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ^ "Moroccan Man Who Fought With Ukraine Sentenced to Death in Donetsk". moroccoworldnews.com. June 11, 2022.
- ^ Reuters (June 13, 2022). "Moroccan sentenced to death in Donetsk has Ukrainian nationality, is not a mercenary, his father says". Reuters. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ^ a b c "U.K. Condemns Death Sentence Handed To Foreign Fighters By Separatist Court In Ukraine". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. June 11, 2022.
- ^ "Save Brahim: Kyiv clubbing community appeals for release of captured soldier". Mixmag. June 11, 2022.
- ^ a b "Student Brahim wilde Oekraïne beschermen, maar krijgt nu de doodstraf" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. June 11, 2022.
- ^ "What we know about Moroccan man sentenced to death in DNR". European Radio for Belarus. June 11, 2022.
- ^ a b "Марокканця і британців, які пішли до ЗСУ, хочуть стратити у Донецьку". Радіо Свобода (in Ukrainian). Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ a b Polska, Grupa Wirtualna (June 13, 2022). "Rosjanie chcą się targować? Dziewczyna skazańca przemówiła". o2.pl (in Polish). Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ "Ce que l'on sait de l'affaire Brahim Saadoun, le jeune marocain condamné à mort au Donbass". Médias24 (in French). June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ Aamari, Oussama. "Moroccan Who Fought With Ukraine to Face Trial in Donetsk". moroccoworldnews.com. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ a b "Brahim Saadoun, the Moroccan sentenced to death for participating in the war in Ukraine". larazon.es (in Spanish). June 11, 2022.
- ^ "خلاف مع والده/ شاب تائه/ يعتبر الأمر مجرد لعبة.. محامية إبراهيم سعدون تكشف معطيات مهمة عن موكلها". كيفاش (in Arabic). Retrieved June 15, 2022.
- ^ "IBA and IBAHRI strongly condemn the illegal 'trial' and sentencing to death of Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner and Brahim Saaudun". International Bar Association. June 14, 2022.
- ^ Vasilyeva, Nataliya (June 9, 2022). "British fighters Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner sentenced to death by Russian-backed court". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- ^ "Moroccan fighter sentenced to death is 'victim of this war,' friend says". Deutsche Welle. June 11, 2022.
- ^ Latrech, Oumaima. "Brahim Saadoun: 'I Wanted to Live, See the People I Love Again'". moroccoworldnews. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ Kilner, James (June 12, 2022). "No mercy for death row British fighters Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, says rebel leader". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "بوريطة يرفض الحضور للبرلمان لتقديم توضيحات حول إبراهيم سعدون المحكوم بالإعدام". اليوم 24 – أخبار اليوم على مدار الساعة (in Arabic). Retrieved June 15, 2022.
- ^ "Conversaţie suprarealistă la televiziunea rusă: "Îi spânzurăm sau îi tăiem?"". Mediafax.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ "UK government urged to aid Moroccan man facing death penalty in Ukraine war". Al Arabiya English. June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "مطالب بتدخل السلطات في قضية الطالب إبراهيم سعدون". اليوم 24 – أخبار اليوم على مدار الساعة (in Arabic). Retrieved June 15, 2022.
- ^ Bakbach, Soulaimane. "Moroccan public push for Ukraine death sentence citizen's release". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ "Maroc : les autorités réagissent à l'affaire Brahim Saadoun – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ "Mohamed 6 feliciteert Poetin en negeert doodstraf Saadoun". Arif News (in Dutch). Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ قلبه, محمد (June 15, 2022). "السعودية تحذر حجاج هذا العام من هؤلاء المحتالين". أخبار الآن (in Arabic). Retrieved June 15, 2022.
- ^ "ECHR orders Russia to prevent execution of Moroccan who fought for Ukraine". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
- ^ "Russian State Duma Votes To Quit European Court Of Human Rights". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
- ^ "'He's been betrayed': sister of Moroccan man captured in Ukraine pleads for help". The Guardian. June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.