11:19, 16 March 2016

Advocate of Vera Savchenko states her probable detention

Vera Savchenko. Photo: Inna Sokolovska (RFE/RL)

Vera, a sister of the Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, could be detained for certain investigatory actions within the case of abusing the judge at the trial of Klykh and Karpyuk, said the advocate Marina Dubrovina.

Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko is accused of involvement in the murder of two VGTRK (All-Russian TV and Radio Company) near Lugansk on June 17, 2014, and of illegally crossing the Russian border. From September 22, her case is being considered by the Donetsk City Court of the Rostov Region of Russia.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the judge of the Supreme Court (SC) of the Chechen Republic, who is considering the criminal case against Nikolai Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh, citizens of Ukraine, found the behaviour of Vera Savchenko, who acts as a public defender, disrespectful to the court; and an administrative protocol was drawn up against her. In November 2015, Mark Feigin, an advocate of Nadezhda Savchenko, said that a criminal case had been initiated against his client's sister, Vera Savchenko, about contempt of the court.

"The investigator said that he had summoned Vera Savchenko, but she failed to appear to interrogation. I'm afraid that as soon as she appears somewhere, she may be forced to participate in some investigatory actions," the Radio Liberty quotes Marina Dubrovina as saying.

So far, there are no comments of Vera Savchenko on the fact of the check; earlier she had stated that she said nothing offensive to the court.

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