The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
STORYLINE
Death sentence trial for Ukraine foreign fighters is a war crime: UN rights office
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday condemned the death sentence handed down to three foreign fighters in Ukraine by a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. “Such trials against prisoners of war amount to a war crime,” said OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani.
The three men - Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, and Moroccan Saaudun Brahim – were captured while fighting for Ukraine, reportedly defending the southern port city of Mariupol.
Bitter fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces since the Russian invasion on 24 February flattened the city, where UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet has previously condemned attacks against civilians and civilian objects that have likely caused thousands of deaths.
“We are concerned - the UN human rights Office - is concerned about the so-called Supreme Court of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic sentencing three servicemen to death,” said Ms. Shamdasani. “According to the chief command of Ukraine, all the men were part of the Ukrainian armed forces and if that is the case, they should not be considered as mercenaries.”
The UN rights office spokesperson also highlighted longstanding concerns about fair trial violations in Ukraine’s breakaway eastern regions bordering Russia. “Since 2015, we have observed that the so-called judiciary within these self-contained republics has not complied with essential fair trial guarantees, such as public hearings, independence, impartiality of the courts and the right not to be compelled to testify.”
Speaking in Geneva, Ms. Shamdasani added that “such trials against prisoners of war amount to a war crime. In the case of the use of the death penalty, fair trial guarantees are of course all the more important.”
ends
STORY: Ukraine Foreign Fighters Death Sentence - OHCHR
TRT: 1 min 45s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 10 June 2022 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, a sunny day.
- Wide shot, Press briefing room, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Ravina Shamdasani, OHCHR: “We are concerned - the UN human rights Office - is concerned about the so-called Supreme Court of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic sentencing three servicemen to death. Now these were as you said citizens of foreign countries who were captured in Mariupol for being mercenaries. According to the chief command of Ukraine, all the men were part of the Ukrainian armed forces and if that is the case, they should not be considered as mercenaries.”
- Medium shot, podium speakers to rear, participant’s face blurred in foreground.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Ravina Shamdasani, OHCHR: “Since 2015, we have observed that the so-called judiciary within these self-contained republics has not complied with essential fair trial guarantees, such as public hearings, independence, impartiality of the courts and the right not to be compelled to testify.”
- Medium shot, participant, standing with arms folded, framed between other participants in foreground, blurred.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Ravina Shamdasani, OHCHR: “Such trials against prisoners of war amount to a war crime. In the case of the use of the death penalty, fair trial guarantees are of course all the more important.”
- Medium shot, participants and podium speakers.
- Wide shot, journalists, seated, writing notes and checking mobile phones.
- Close-up, speaker shown in TV camera viewfinder, TV screen to rear, blurred.
- Medium shot, participants seated and working on laptops.
- Close-up, journalist writes notes on notepad.
- Medium shot, participants, one wearing headphones.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OCHA
Summary: UN warns of potential slaughter in Rafah, Gaza, due to Israeli military operation, risking humanitarian disaster and health crisis.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | UNRWA
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini will update the press on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Summary: WHO deems current public health risk posed by avian influenza A (H5N1) low. Virus detected in calves and dairy cattle in the U.S., but virus fragments in pasteurized milk are not infectious. Surveillance and information sharing are crucial in combating the spread of zoonotic viruses.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNMAS
The head of UN peacekeeping and demining reiterated calls on Monday for a ceasefire in Gaza on Monday as a first step to returning the war-ravaged enclave to some normality, while mine clearance experts warned that Gaza is now at its “most dangerous period”.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk is gravely concerned by the escalating violence in and around El-Fasher city, North Darfur, where dozens of people have been killed in the past two weeks as hostilities between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have intensified., UN Human Rights spokesperson Seif Magango told the biweekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) briefed the journalist on the latest development in Iran.