MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. Moscow’s Lefortovsky Court extended for three months the custody for all 24 sailors charged with violating Russia’s state border in the Kerch Strait, the court told TASS on Wednesday.
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"The court granted the investigator’s motion and extended the defendants’ custody until April 24," a spokesperson said.
The court considered the motion on extending the custody for 20 sailors on Tuesday. The hearing was held behind closed doors at the request of the Russian Federal Security Service. The journalists were invited only to hear the court’s resolution.
On Wednesday, the court considered at a closed-door hearing the investigator’s motion on extending the custody of the remaining four suspects - Viktor Bespalchenko, Vladimir Varimeze, Vladislav Kostyshin and Vladimir Lisovoy.
On November 25, three warships of the Ukrainian Navy violated the rules of passage through Russia's territorial waters while en route from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea. The Russian side had to use weapons to compel the ships to stop. The ships were detained and escorted to the port of Kerch. A criminal case was launched on border violation charges. Moscow described the incident as a provocation.
Twenty-four Ukrainian sailors were arrested and taken to a Moscow pre-trial detention center. They have been charged with illegally crossing Russia’s state border, and face up to six years in jail if found guilty.