Ukraine: Accused of being a “foreign mercenary”, a Moroccan faces the death penalty in Donetsk – franceinfo

Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner as well as Moroccan Saadun Brahim are on trial in a court in the separatist pro-Russian Republic of Donetsk. Article written by France Télévisions Rédaction Afrique Published on 06/09/2022 15:15 Updated on 06/09/2022 15:43 Reading time: 1 min. Saadun Brahim, a former student at the Faculty of Aerodynamic and Space Technologies in kyiv, was reportedly arrested by the Russian army in April in Donbass. According to the Moroccan press, he was fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in the 36th Brigade of the Marine Corps. The young native of Meknes would have signed his contract in December 2021. Accused of being a “foreign mercenary”, Saadun Brahim is currently on trial with two Britons, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, by a court in the pro-Russian separatist Republic of Donetsk for acts of “mercenarism” and for “having committed crimes aimed at the seizure by force and the retention of power”. A video from Belarusian online media Nexta shows the three defendants in a cell. In #Donetsk, the “trial” against #British citizens Sean Piner and Andrew Hill, as well as #Moroccan Brahim Saadoun began. They are accused of “mercenarism and committing crimes aimed at the forcible seizure and retention of power”.Vladimir Soloviev pic.twitter.com/K0p6uHjJfG — NEXTA (@nexta_tv) June 8, 2022 According to the Russian agency RIA, quoted by Reuters ( link in English), the three defendants have pleaded guilty and face the death penalty. Morocco has not yet officially reacted. According to the online media Le Desk, the death penalty could be avoided if Saadun Brahim and the two Britons can prove that they were part of the Ukrainian forces and were not mercenaries. Share: Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share by email Share link