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Russian judge sets date for Ukrainian pilot verdict Ukrainian pilot denounces her trial in Russia as a farce
(about 2 hours later)
DONETSK, Russia — A Russian judge has set a date of March 21-22 for issuing the verdict in the case against jailed Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, who is accused of involvement in the deaths of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine. DONETSK, Russia — A Ukrainian pilot charged in the deaths of two Russian journalists on Wednesday denounced her trial as a farce.
Prosecutors last week asked the court in the border town of Donetsk to sentence Savchenko to 23 years in prison. The judge said Wednesday the reading of the verdict would begin March 21 and take two days. “In Russia, there are no courts and no investigations,” Nadezhda Savchenko told the court in the Russian border town of Donetsk. “Here there is the farce of Kremlin puppets.”
Savchenko was fighting with a Ukrainian volunteer battalion against Russia-backed rebels when she was captured in June 2014. Russia claims she was a spotter who called in coordinates for a mortar attack that killed the journalists. Addressing the court, she said: “If you want to show your strength, go ahead. But remember, we are playing with my life. The stakes are high and I have nothing to lose.”
Ukraine says Savchenko was abducted by Russians and should be treated as a prisoner of war. The trial judge said that he would announce his verdict on March 21-22 on her role in the deaths of the journalists in eastern Ukraine.
Prosecutors last week asked the court to convict Savchenko and sentence her to 23 years in prison.
Savchenko, 34, declared a hunger strike on Thursday last week and has a high fever, according to tweets from one of her lawyers, Nikolai Polozov. Her mother and sister were both present at the trial, but a group of Ukrainian doctors were not allowed into Russia to see Savchenko, Polozov wrote.
Savchenko was fighting with a Ukrainian volunteer battalion against Russia-backed rebels when she was captured in June 2014. Russia claims she was a spotter who called in coordinates for a mortar attack that killed the two journalists and several other civilians.
The Ukrainian government says Savchenko was abducted by the Russians and should be treated as a prisoner of war.
About 2,000 Ukrainians rallied in central Kiev on Sunday to demand that Russia release Savchenko, whose case has been taken up by supporters in other countries as well.
On Tuesday, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden issued a statement saying she has been unjustly imprisoned and calling on Russia to release her immediately.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.