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Russian court refuses to let Ukrainian ex-pilot to go to PACE session

This will violate the rights of my client and in this case we won’t be able to file a lawsuit in the European Court of Human Rights, Nadezhda Savchenko's lawyer says
Nadezhda Savchenko TASS/Artiom Korotaev
Nadezhda Savchenko
© TASS/Artiom Korotaev

MOSCOW, September 16. /TASS/. The Moscow City Court on Wednesday terminated the proceeding upon a complaint filed by former Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko against the refusal of Russia’s investigators to allow her to attend a PACE session.

"The complaint will not be satisfied, the proceeding upon the complaint should be stopped," the judge said.

The court satisfied the motion of the prosecutor as the Donetsk court in southern Russia has set September 22 as the date for the trial.

Lawyer Nikolai Polozov has voiced protest against the decision. "The complaint was submitted back in May, and the court has delayed its consideration until September."

"This will violate the rights of my client and in this case we won’t be able to file a lawsuit in the European Court of Human Rights," he said.

Savchenko, 34, who has been in custody in Russia since July 2014, is charged with complicity in the murder of two Russian TV journalists in Donbass in June 2014 and the illegal crossing of the border with Russia.

The period of investigation on her case has been extended until November 13. If found guilty, Savchenko faces up to 25 years in prison. The Ukrainian does not admit her guilt.

Savchenko became a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in January 2015.

Russia’s investigators say Savchenko committed the crime before she was granted international immunity and it is not linked to her work as a deputy.

On Tuesday, the Russian court denied Savchenko’s defence the right to file to PACE a motion on her immunity from criminal prosecution.