The father of Brahim Saadoune, 21, a Moroccan citizen sentenced to death in the self-proclaimed breakaway republic of Donetsk, wrote a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin pleading for his son’s freedom.

Brahim Saadoune and the British Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner fought alongside Ukrainian soldiers before being captured by Russian forces. A Russian-backed court in the Donetsk separatist region has charged all three with foreign mercenaries and sentenced them to death on June 9. They had 30 days to appeal.

“Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, we hope for your mercy and wisdom, because you yourself are a father and know firsthand the feelings of the father. In addition, you believe in the Lord God, who always calls for peace, tolerance and the forgiveness of sins,” Taher Saadoune wrote in his letter, published on Telegram by Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled television channel.

Brahim came to Ukraine in 2019 for his studies and in 2021 he was recruited “fraudulently to the Ukrainian army on a contract basis”, his father wrote, referring to his son’s young age and lack of life experience.

He also wrote that his son was “a good young man who fell in love with Russia from childhood, so he learned Russian.”

Brahim’s father said he lost contact with his son in March and was unaware that he was being moved to the front lines in eastern Ukraine. He said it came as a surprise to hear that his son had capitulated to the Russian military.

“Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, we trust you and all your decisions. We also believe in the justice of justice in the DPR, we believe in the politicians of this republic,” wrote Taher Saadoune, adding that the head of the DPR gave parents “the opportunity to attend Appellate Court meetings. . “

He wrote that his son’s health had deteriorated day by day, saying that “he is severely emaciated.”

Towards the end, Taher Saadoune wrote: “Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, we really hope that you will help to pardon our son and return a smile and peace to our family, who believe that Brahim was involved in this war in vain.

“Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, I bow to you as a sign of respect and pray to the Lord that he will give you all success for the benefit of Russia and the great Russian people.”