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Ukrainian woman pilot Savchenko undergoing psychiatric testing in Moscow

The main task of the examination is to decide whether the suspect is sane, and also to define her capacity to sue and be sued, the Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin says

Nadezhda Savchenko ITAR-TASS/Alexander Ryumin

Nadezhda Savchenko

© ITAR-TASS/Alexander Ryumin

MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. Ukrainian female pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, who has been charged with involvement in the killing of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine, is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation in Moscow, the Russian Investigative Committee (IC) said on Monday.

“The main task of the examination is to decide whether the suspect is sane, and also to define her capacity to sue and be sued,” IC spokesman Vladimir Markin said.

The psychiatric evaluation is a standard procedure used against individuals who are “directly involved in armed conflicts or also accused of especially grave crimes and are to face death penalty or life in prison,” Markin said.

Savchenko earlier refused to undergo the psychiatric testing and denied all charges.

In early July, the IC charged Savchenko with involvement in murder of two reporters, who worked for the Russian VGTRK TV corporation in Ukraine.

Russian investigators said Savchenko, who was arrested in summer after illegally entering the Russian territory, joined the Aidar battalion during combat operations near the city of Luhansk in June. Locating the positions of the Russian TV crew and other civilians near Luhansk, she passed them on to the military that opened mortar fire on the group of people, which resulted in the killing of the Russian reporters Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin in mid-June.

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Eastern Ukraine Russian Investigative Committee Journalism

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