16:19, 26 October 2016

Sentence to Karpyuk and Klykh upheld

Nadezhda Savchenko waits for the Court to pronounce the verdict, October 26, 2016. Photo by Oleg Krasnov for the ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Today, the Russia's Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the sentence to two citizens of Ukraine, Nikolai Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh, convicted for taking part in the first Chechen war on the side of the militants.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that today the SC considered the appeal complaint against the verdict to Karpyuk and Klykh. The convicts took part in the session in Moscow via video conference. Their advocates asked to acquit Karpyuk and Klykh. I their last plea, the convicts refused to plead guilty.

On May 26, on the basis of a verdict of guilty pronounced by a jury, the Supreme Court of the ChechenRepublicsentenced Nikolai Karpyuk to 22.5 years of imprisonment and Stanislav Klykh to 20 years of imprisonment. According to investigators, on December 31, 1994, being members of the "UNA-UNSO" (an organization which activities are banned in Russia by the court), Nikolai Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh were involved in combat actions for Grozny, and they killed at least 30 Russian soldiers and officers. The sentenced men denied their involvement in the conflict in Chechnya and complained about torture during the investigation.

The Russia's SC has left the verdict to Karpyuk and Klykh unchanged, and the defence's complaint – rejected, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports from the courtroom.

The Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" announced Karpyuk and Klykh to be political prisoners.

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

Author: Oleg Krasnov

Source: CK correspondent