photo credit, Reuters
Brahim Saadoune (right) was sentenced along with Aiden Aslin (left) and Shaun Pinner (centre) were sentenced alongside a Moroccan national.
The sister of the Moroccan who was sentenced to death by a mandatory Russian court in eastern Ukraine says she feels her story is being ignored – and he may be forgotten.
Brahim Saadoune was sentenced alongside Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, who received much more publicity.
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Saadoune, 21, was studying in Ukraine but vowed to fight in Mariupol’s defense.
When he surrendered – he was tried, along with the other two, not as a soldier, but as a mercenary.
“In the beginning, when they captured the two, it was as if the information was different for each person,” says Imane Saadoune.
Imane Saadoune has not been able to speak to his brother since his capture.
“There wasn’t a lot of attention on my brother… he was left out a bit. Maybe it’s because my government isn’t doing much about it, they are literally silent and no one is claiming it.”
All three men have a chance to appeal, but the separatists said they saw no reason not to kill them.
The BBC has contacted the Moroccan government for a response.
Like many countries in Africa and the Middle East, Morocco has avoided taking sides in the conflict in Ukraine, calling for a peaceful resolution to the war that began with the Russian invasion of the country in February this year.
On June 13, the King of Morocco underlined his country’s “solid friendship” with Russia in a message addressed to President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of the Russian national holiday, not to mention the case of Saaudun.
photo credit, PA media
Brahim (left) has moved to Ukraine to study and his friends in Kyiv are campaigning for his release.
He moved to Ukraine to study and received Ukrainian citizenship in 2020 after completing the necessary military training to enter aerospace technology studies at a university in Kiev, his father Tahar Saaudun said in an email to the agency.
After their capture alongside Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, all three were tried in a court by proxy in the People’s Republic of Donetsk, a pro-Russian breakaway region in eastern Ukraine. They were tried as mercenaries and not prisoners of war, whose rights are protected by the Geneva Convention. The men’s lawyer said they all wanted to appeal the sentence, the news agency reported. Russian Press Tass. The court is not internationally recognized, but Russia’s foreign minister defended the death sentences handed down against the men. Iman said she was worried her brother wouldn’t know people were trying “I just want to tell her that you’re loved. I just want to tell her, like, things are going to work out. Don’t be afraid. A big sister should do, but I can’t do that. I can’t do that,” she said.
photo credit, Ministry of Defense TV
Brahim Saaudun (right) and two Britons were captured by Russia while fighting for Ukraine.
Friends are now campaigning for his release and posting under the hashtag #SaveBrahim.
“Everyone is heartbroken,” Dasha Oleynik, a close friend of Saaudun’s, told the Guardian newspaper.
“I wish he knew how much support he really has… how many people care about it, how many people write about it, how many people post about it.”
Iman praised his friends’ efforts.
“Your government has failed you. Your own people have failed you, but others have not and will do their best for you.”