Russia: Savchenko's lawyer says she has received forms for extradition
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 27 April 2016 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russia: Savchenko's lawyer says she has received forms for extradition, 27 April 2016, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/5769006f29.html [accessed 27 June 2017] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
April 27, 2016
Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko reacts inside a defendant's cage during her sentencing hearing at a court in the southern Russian town of Donetsk on March 22.
Jailed Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko has received official forms needed for her to be extradited from Russia to Ukraine, her lawyer says.
Attorney Mark Feigin told Russia's RIA Novosti news agency on April 27 that Savchenko had been given the documents and that a lawyer, Nikolai Polozov, would go to Savchenko's jail in Novocherkassk on April 29 and help her fill out the forms.
Feigin added that the entire process of extradition could take many months.
"I have received Savchenko's statement [saying she agrees] to be extradited to serve her prison sentence in Ukraine...I believe that the procedure has started," RIA quoted Feigin as saying.
Savchenko was sentenced by a Russian court to 22 years in jail on March 22 after she was found guilty of involvement in the killing of two Russian journalists during fighting by Russia-backed separatists against Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine.
Savchenko has denied any involvement in the incident and says she was abducted and illegally brought to Russia.
Savchenko, 34, is a national hero in Ukraine and is viewed as a symbol of resistance against Russia, which forcibly seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 before illegally annexing it.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, have agreed to the framework for a deal to exchange Savchenko for soldiers captured in Ukraine that Kyiv says were active Russian soldiers.
Based on reporting by Reuters and Interfax
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
