Ukraine: European Court of Human Rights to Russia, “death penalty imposed on Mr Saadoune should not be carried out”

The Russian Government “should ensure that the death penalty imposed on the applicant is not carried out” and that “Convention rights” are respected, notably in respect of Articles 2 (right to life) and 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the Convention”; it should also ensure “appropriate conditions of his detention, and provide him with any necessary medical assistance and medication”. The European Court of Human Rights said this in an “interim measure” (procedure for cases that should be addressed urgently) issued in response to a request lodged on 14 June by the Moroccan citizen who was sentenced to death, along with two UK nationals, by a court in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic. Born in 2000 to a Moroccan family, Mr Saadoune then moved to Ukraine in 2019 to study in Kyiv. In November 2021, he joined the 36th Detached Marine Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Mariupol and was among the 1,026 soldiers who surrendered to the Russian forces on 13 April 2022. Under the Criminal Code of the Donetsk People’s Republic that sentenced him to death on 9 June, three charges were brought against Mr Saadoune, including participation in an armed conflict as a mercenary and participation in terrorist activities. The Court has given Russia two weeks to show that the Convention rights of Mr Saadoune are respected.
Sarah Numico