Relatives of Azovstal defenders urge Zelenskyy to prevent sham "tribunal" in Mariupol

Ukrainska Pravda
·2 min read

IRYNA BALACHUK – TUESDAY, 9 AUGUST 2022, 07:32

The Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders has called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the UN to intervene and prevent the sham "tribunal" of the Ukrainian defenders of the Azovstal plant captured by Russia. The Russian occupation regime is preparing to hold the so-called "tribunal" in Mariupol.

Source: The Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders on Telegram

Quote: "The Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders is calling on Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, and all international organisations – including the Azovstal security guarantors, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN – to intervene in this absurd performance and denounce and prevent the shame tribunals that are threatening the lives of the Azov Regiment fighters."

Details: The defenders’ families emphasise that Ukrainian military personnel were carrying out the duties assigned to them by the state on Ukrainian territory and according to Ukrainian law and can therefore not be tried or sentenced by other countries, especially not by unrecognised pseudo-states.

The families recall that the rights of prisoners of war are guaranteed by the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

According to the Geneva Conventions, any encroachment on human dignity of prisoners of war shall be prohibited, as well as their conviction or punishment without a prior judgment of a legitimate court.

Read Also: An Island of Hope: How the Azovstal defenders got out and where they are now

Background:

  • On 6 August, Mariupol City Council reported that the Russian occupiers started installing prison cages on the stage of the Mariupol Philharmonic Hall in order to conduct a sham trial of Ukrainian prisoners of war in September.

  • On 8 August, Denys Pushylin, Kremlin-appointed leader of the separatist militants in the temporarily occupied region of Donetsk, told Rossiya 1 (Russia 1), a Kremlin-aligned news channel, that the "first tribunal" of the Azov Regiment fighters will take place in Mariupol.

  • He claimed that it will be an international "tribunal" which "several countries have already agreed to take part in". However, he has not specified which countries agreed to participate.

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