The Moroccan National Council for Human Rights (CNDH) has announced that it is working towards saving Brahim Saadoun from the death penalty that a pro-Russia court in the breakaway Ukrainian region of Donetsk recently handed him.
Speaking at the Council’s General Assembly held today in Rabat, CNDH president Amina Bouayach underlined that the council is racing against the clock to save Saadoun, whose case has become the council’s primary preoccupation.
“We are in contact with international human rights institutions to save Brahim Saadoun from facing the death penalty,” Bouayach noted, adding that the “council has contacted the National Institution for Human Rights in Russia, urging it to intervene and defend the rights of the Moroccan man.”
According to the CNDH president, the council has notably pleaded with Russian legal institutions to grant Saadoun a fair trial by taking into account all the circumstances surrounding his arrest and detention during a yet-to-be-scheduled appeal session.
Read also: Moroccan Man Who Fought With Ukraine Sentenced to Death in Donetsk
On June 9, Saadoun and two other Britons were sentenced to death by a Russian-backed tribunal in Donetsk. All of the three men pleaded guilty to charges of “terrorism.”
The death sentences sparked uproar and backlash in the international community, with many institutions calling on the Russian government to reconsider the death penalty.
Earlier this week, the European Court of Human Rights demanded of the Russian government to annul the death penalty verdict against Saadoun, and ensure that his rights are respected.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has also condemned the death sentence handed to the three foreign fighters, calling the trials “a war crime.”
Saadoun, who was fighting for the Ukrainian military in Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, was taken prisoner by Russian forces in April.
While the Russia-backed tribunal accused the three of being foreign mercenaries for Ukraine, observers said the trial was unfair and based on “trumped up” charges.
Saadoun and his two British co-detainees will have a month to appeal their sentence. If successful, the sentence may be reduced to 25 years or life in prison, according to Russia’s news agency.
