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Russian court rejects motion on overturning ex-Ukrainian pilot’s arrest ruling

The prosecutor earlier asked the court to extend Nadezhda Savchenko’s custody by six months
Nadezhda Savchenko (right) Vyacheslav Prokofiyev/TASS
Nadezhda Savchenko (right)
© Vyacheslav Prokofiyev/TASS

DONETSK/Rostov region/, September 15. /TASS/. A court in southern Russia’s Rostov region has rejected a motion of the defense team on overturning the ruling on the arrest of former Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, a TASS correspondent reports.

The prosecutor earlier asked the court to extend Savchenko’s custody by six months. The Donetsk city court has yet to announce the extension of the Ukrainian’s arrest.

The preliminary hearing of the case against Savchenko, who is charged with complicity in the murder of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine in June 2014, resumed earlier on Tuesday.

The Donetsk court began the preliminary hearing on July 30. An earlier motion to transfer the case to Moscow, as requested by Savchenko’s defense lawyers, was turned down on August 21.

Savchenko’s defense team plans to announce some "important motions" in court, her lawyer Mark Feygin wrote on his Twitter. "I have no illusions or optimism but we will take into account the loyalty of court. It is difficult to forecast how long the process will take," he added.

Russia’s Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said Savchenko was provided with regular medical assistance and was visited by both foreign and Russian doctors. All of them confirmed that her health was satisfactory.

"That’s why I can say for sure that if compared with the similar cases with Russian citizens under custody in Ukraine, Savchenko enjoyed all the rights in full and even more than envisaged," he said.

Russian investigators say that Savchenko, the gunner of a Mi-24 helicopter, joined the notorious Aidar battalion during combat operations in the much-troubled Lugansk region of Ukraine in June 2014.

Upon noting the position of a filming crew of the Russian State Broadcasting Company and other civilians, the 33-year-old allegedly reported the data to mortar-equipped personnel who opened fire on the crew and the civilians. As a result, correspondent Igor Kornelyuk and sound engineer Anton Voloshin were killed.

The former pilot does not admit her guilt.