Rabat – A Russian-backed tribunal in Donetsk sentenced Brahim Saadoun, a young Moroccan who fought with the Ukrainian army, to death on Thursday.
Saadoun faced trial on Wednesday along with British citizens Sean Pinner and Andrew Hill, with all three facing charges of war crimes and terrorism.
The court they were tried in is not internationally recognized. The death penalty is to be carried out by firing squad, according to the court’s laws.
State-run Russian news agency RIA Novosti said the men pleaded guilty, with pro-Moscow officials claiming their actions “led to the death and injuries of civilians,” as well as “destruction of infrastructure.”
Saadoun and the other men will have a month to appeal the sentence. If successful, the sentence may be reduced to 25 years or life in prison, Russia’s news agency said on Thursday.
Saadoun’s father told Moroccan media the sentence is “not final” and that he would be back in court tomorrow.
While the court tried the men on the basis of them being foreign mercenaries, the defendants and their families maintained that they were living in Ukraine legally and fought officially with Ukraine, which would grant them the protection of being legitimate prisoners of war, protected by the Geneva convention.
Only a small portion of the closed trial was made public through pro-Russian media. Observers said it’s a “show trial” with “trumped up charges” put on “to imitate trials of Russian soldiers in Ukraine.”
Saadoun was captured by pro-Russian forces back in April. Several Russian media outlets aired a video of an alleged interrogation where he recalled being very scared at the moment of his arrest.
Saadoun was pursuing his studies at the Faculty of Aerodynamic and Space Technologies at the Kiev Polytechnic Institute (KPI) when the war in Ukraine broke out.
