According to a report by RIA Novosti on June 29, Margaret Simonyan, editor-in-chief of Russia Today TV (RT), posted on the social media Telegram that the Moroccan citizen who was previously sentenced to death by the Donetsk court Ibrahim Saadun's father, Tah Saadun, has written to Russian President Vladimir Putin asking for his help in getting his son pardoned.
RIA Novosti report screenshot
In mid-April, British citizens Aiden Essling and Sean Pinner and Moroccan citizen Ibrahim Saadun, who fought for the Ukrainian army, surrendered in the city of Mariupol. On June 9, the Donetsk Supreme Court sentenced three people to death for "acting as mercenaries" and "trying to seize power by force."
Simonyan said in the post that Tah contacted RT’s Arabic editorial department and asked the other party to forward the letter to Putin. Simonyan translated the letter into Russian word for word and published it. Takh wrote at the beginning of the letter, "To the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin . Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, my name is Takh Saadun , the father of Moroccan student Ibrahim Saadun, who was captured by Donetsk militia forces during a battle near Mariupol ”
Ibrahim Saadun Source. : People's Vision
Tah stated in the letter that his 21-year-old son went to Ukraine to study in 2019. Due to lack of life experience, he was deceived into signing a contract to join the Ukrainian army in 2021. He pointed out that the family completely lost contact with their son at the end of March this year and were very surprised to learn that his son had surrendered. At that time, Ibrahim Saadun was wearing a Ukrainian military uniform and carrying Ukrainian weapons.
Tah said that although the family was surprised, they were still happy that their son was taken away from the battlefield. "We very much hope that you can help our son get a pardon and let our family regain smile and peace. We think Ibrahim 's involvement in this war is entirely in vain."
Tah also said that he believed in the impartiality of justice in the Donetsk region, and said that the leader of the Donetsk civilian armed forces had allowed his family to observe the appeals court hearing. "This situation brings comfort to all Arabs who believe, like us, that our son Ibrahim is a victim of manipulative and brainwashing practices used on inexperienced young men," the letter reads. .
According to Reuters report, Tah said that his son should be treated as a "prisoner of war" because he has Ukrainian nationality and surrendered "voluntarily". Morocco's National Human Rights Council (CNDH) also confirmed Taher's statement at the time that Ibrahim had obtained Ukrainian nationality and therefore should be treated as a "prisoner of war". (Editor: HHJ)
