Ukrainian pilot in Russian custody transferred to prison hospital
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 29 January 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Ukrainian pilot in Russian custody transferred to prison hospital, 29 January 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/54e1a46715.html [accessed 1 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. |
January 29, 2015
By RFE/RL
A demonstrator in Kyiv holds aloft a picture of the Ukrainian army officer captured by pro-Russian insurgents and taken to Russia, Nadia Savchenko, with the words "Free Nadia Savchenko."
A lawyer for Nadia Savchenko, a Ukrainian military pilot who has been on a hunger strike in a Russian jail since mid-December, has been transferred to a prison hospital due to severe weight loss.
Savchenko lawyer Ilya Novikov told Interfax that his client, who is in the seventh week of a hunger strike, was transferred to the medical department at Moscow's notorious Matrosskaya Tishina detention center on January 29.
Savchenko has been charged with involvement in the deaths of two Russian journalists killed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Savchenko, who was captured by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine in June and transferred to Russian custody in July, says Russia has no right to hold or try her.
Savchenko won a seat in Ukraine's parliament in October and was elected to represent Ukraine in the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE).
PACE officials and western leaders have called for Russia to release Savchenko.
With reporting by Interfax
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
