'Illegal border crossing' added to Russian charges against Savchenko
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 24 April 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 'Illegal border crossing' added to Russian charges against Savchenko, 24 April 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5565ba3812.html [accessed 2 June 2023] |
| 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 24, 2015
Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko stands inside a defendants' cage as she attends a court hearing in Moscow on April 17.
Investigators have brought an additional charge against Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko in what the prosecution called it's "final" case against her, alleging that she illegally crossed the border from Ukraine into Russia.
Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said on April 24 that Savchenko has been officially charged with "complicity in the killing of two or more people, complicity in the killing of two or more people using methods posing danger to the public based on political hatred, and illegally crossing the Russian border."
Markin said the investigation of Savchenko's case had been completed, meaning that the findings of the probe will be sent to her for review and later sent to court for her trial.
Savchenko's lawyer, Mark Feigin, confirmed the additional charge and said his client had pleaded not guilty.
Savchenko, 33, is charged in connection with a June 2014 mortar attack that killed two Russian journalists covering the conflict between government forces and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
She says she was kidnapped by pro-Russia separatists who handed her over to Russian military authorities in Ukraine, who illegally took her across the border into Russia.
In her native Ukraine, Savchenko has became a symbol of heroism for her stoic stance in Russian custody.
She has held a lengthy hunger strike, protesting her arrest and insisting the charges against her are fabricated.
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
