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Rabat – The European Court of Human Rights has demanded of the Russian government to annul the death penalty verdict against Brahim Saadoun, and ensure that his rights are respected.
The Strasbourg court released a statement on Friday indicating its demands to the Russian government. The statement added that both Russia and Ukraine’s governments should ensure that the detainee is kept under humane conditions and given full rights, including medical treatment.
The court asked the Russian government to inform it within two weeks of the measures implemented by them to “guarantee respect of the treaty rights” of Saadoun.
The court added that Ukraine has to also guarantee and respect his contractual rights, as he was arrested while fighting for the Ukrainian army as a uniformed member of its military, which grants him protection under the Geneva convention.
The case of Saadoun and two British men who were sentenced to death alongside him garnered widespread condemnation regionally and internationally. International demands have called on Russia and Donetsk authorities to not carry out the disputed sentence.
Saadoun was taken prisoner by Russian forces in April, while fighting for the Ukrainian military. After a trial on Wednesday June 8, he was sentenced to death along with two others who were also fighting for the Ukrainians.
While Saadoun was charged with being a foreign mercenary, international organizations and activists said he cannot be sentenced to death as he is a prisoner of war, having fought with Ukraine under a legal contract after obtaining Ukrainian citizenship.
Friends and family have recently renewed calls for governments to intervene to save the men from the death penalty. Moroccan diplomatic sources in Kiev said the court that handed down the sentence is not recognized internationally or by Morocco.
Read also: Russia’s Duma Speaker: Brahim Saadoun, 2 Britons Deserve Death Penalty
