As the fight continues in Ukraine with Russian forces advancing in the eastern parts of the country, a new report about a Moroccan national sentenced to death by a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic has raised questions over his service in the Ukrainian military.
The 21-years old man identified as Brahim Saadoun has been captured along with two other British nationals by militants in the pro-Russia Donetsk People's Republic, before being convicted of "terrorism" resulting in the death sentence.
One of the countless other heartbreaking life stories emerging from #Ukraine ??
— Ploutarhos Amara Pantelides | بلوتارخ ?????? (@PloutarhosP) June 11, 2022
??????#SaveBrahim #Saadoun #Morocco #Maroc#المغرب https://t.co/HudkvWNYl8
Pro-Russian reports accuse Brahim Saadoun and Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner of being "foreign fighters within the Ukrainian army as mercenaries". However, Brahim Saadoun's father, Tahar Saadoun, told Reuters that his son is a Ukrainian citizen fighting with his national army.
Detailing the background of Brahim Saadoun's Ukrainian nationality, the father explained that his son moved to Ukraine for his university education when he was 19 years old. Then he chose to serve for one year with the Ukrainian army, which qualified him for the Ukrainian citizenship he was granted in 2020.
British citizens Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, and Moroccan national Saadoun Brahim, all of whom fought on contract with Ukraine’s military, have been sentenced to death by the Kremlin’s puppet authorities in Donetsk in show trial that lasted mere days. They were not mercenaries. pic.twitter.com/QYGOEkHXHE
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) June 9, 2022
Tahar Saadoun also added that his son had "surrendered peacefully to troops of the Donetsk People's Republic", which means that "he should be treated as a prisoner of war, not sentenced to death".
In February 2022, as Russian forces started their invasion of Ukraine, local authorities banned all healthy Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country, so they fight for their country. Brahim Saadoun was no exception.
Online responses have expressed sympathy for Brahim Saadoun and his family, especially after officials of the Donetsk People's Republic released videos showing him and his British companions while in the court.
For decades before the Russian invasion, Ukraine was a popular educational destination for thousands of Moroccan students. By the time the war started last February, more than 8,000 Moroccan students were enrolled in Ukrainian universities, most of which returned home in the first few weeks of the conflict.
