WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US national Suedi Murekezi is being held by the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) on charges of participating in pro-Ukrainian protests in the city of Kherson, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.
Murekezi, 31, settled permanently in Kherson in 2020 after visiting Ukraine to conduct business since 2017, the report said, citing Murekezi’s brother.
Murekezi called his brother on July 7 to inform him that he is being held in Donetsk on charges of participating in pro-Ukrainian protests in Kherson, which is under control of Russian forces, the report said. Murekezi has denied the accusations levied against him, the report added.
US nationals Alexander Drueke and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh were acting in the capacity of foreign fighters during the special military operation in Ukraine and were detained by Russian forces near Kharkov in June. Drueke and Huynh are US Army and US Marine Corps veterans, respectively.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in June that foreign nationals fighting illegally as mercenaries in Ukraine will be held accountable for any crimes committed without the Geneva Conventions’ protections granted to soldiers.
The DPR Supreme Court in June sentenced to death two United Kingdom citizens captured in Ukraine, Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, as well as Moroccan citizen Saadoun Brahim, for serving as mercenaries.
