Savchenko's sister is prosecuted for contempt of court

Today, Mark Feigin, the advocate of the Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, said that in relation to her sister, Vera Savchenko, a criminal case has been opened for contempt of court.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that earlier advocates of Nadezhda Savchenko announced that Vera Savchenko, who was declared the sole witness for the defence in Nadezhda Savchenko case, was denied entry into Russia. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) expressed its protest in connection with the above fact; however, on October 19, it became known that Vera Savchenko was allowed to enter the territory of Russia.

"A criminal case has been initiated in Russia against Vera Savchenko," Mr Feigin wrote on the Twitter today.

According to the document posted by the advocate, Vera had "systematically violated the established order of the court session by making unauthorized replicas and statements from her place, for which the presiding judge had repeatedly warned her about the inadmissibility of violations... she created in court (of Chechnya) the atmosphere, preventing the full, complete, objective establishment of the case truth; and undermined the authority of the judge."

Vera Savchenko faces a fine of up to 200,000 roubles, or arrest for up to six months, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

In its turn, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has stated that "it is outraged with the criminal charges against Vera, a sister of Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko" and believes that this case has a political character.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.