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| Ukrainian Pilot Sentenced to 22 Years Over Russian Reporters’ Deaths | Ukrainian Pilot Sentenced to 22 Years Over Russian Reporters’ Deaths |
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| DONETSK, Russia — A Russian court sentenced a Ukrainian military pilot, Lt. Nadiya V. Savchenko, to 22 years in prison on Tuesday after finding her guilty of complicity in the deaths of two Russian journalists, in a politically charged case that highlighted the strained relations between Moscow and the West. | |
| When the judge began to read out the sentence, Lieutenant Savchenko reacted by starting to sing a song in Ukrainian. The judge had to stop the proceedings for at least five minutes. The hearing was interrupted again later, after people in the crowd began to sing the Ukrainian anthem. | When the judge began to read out the sentence, Lieutenant Savchenko reacted by starting to sing a song in Ukrainian. The judge had to stop the proceedings for at least five minutes. The hearing was interrupted again later, after people in the crowd began to sing the Ukrainian anthem. |
| “Simply put, Lieutenant Savchenko did not get a fair trial, and so her conviction is unsound and should not stand,” Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. | “Simply put, Lieutenant Savchenko did not get a fair trial, and so her conviction is unsound and should not stand,” Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. |
| “There should be justice for the deaths of Kornelyuk and Voloshin, but justice won’t be served by an unfair trial that was highly politicized from the start,” he said, referring to the two journalists. | “There should be justice for the deaths of Kornelyuk and Voloshin, but justice won’t be served by an unfair trial that was highly politicized from the start,” he said, referring to the two journalists. |
| The Donetsk City Court said Lieutenant Savchenko had directed mortar fire at a rebel-held checkpoint, resulting in the deaths of two Russian reporters during the height of the fighting in eastern Ukraine in June 2014. | |
| Donetsk, a small Russian town 520 miles south of Moscow, near the Ukrainian border, shares a name with the larger city in eastern Ukraine that is the center of the separatist movement. The area around the courthouse was cordoned off by special police units wearing masks. | |
| The pilot, considered a martyr in Ukraine and elected to Parliament there in absentia, has denied all charges, saying that she was kidnapped by Russia an hour before the two reporters, Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin, were killed, and that she was spirited across the border to Russia to face a show trial. | The pilot, considered a martyr in Ukraine and elected to Parliament there in absentia, has denied all charges, saying that she was kidnapped by Russia an hour before the two reporters, Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin, were killed, and that she was spirited across the border to Russia to face a show trial. |
| In Russia, the state news media has turned Lieutenant Savchenko into a symbol of violent anti-Russian nationalism in Ukraine. Russia also said she had entered the country on her own accord, and she was also convicted of illegal entry. | |
| During the trial, her lawyers and others raised serious problems with the evidence. Lieutenant Savchenko’s lawyers offered cellphone records indicating that she was at least three miles from the shelling site when it took place. | |
| Then, in an interview published on Monday by Meduza.io, a news website, a rebel leader claimed to have captured Lieutenant Savchenko before the shelling that killed the Russian journalists took place. The rebel identified himself by a military nickname, Ilim. | Then, in an interview published on Monday by Meduza.io, a news website, a rebel leader claimed to have captured Lieutenant Savchenko before the shelling that killed the Russian journalists took place. The rebel identified himself by a military nickname, Ilim. |
| The West and Ukraine have said that the case amounted to the latest in a long series of show trials, and President Obama and several European leaders were among the critics. | The West and Ukraine have said that the case amounted to the latest in a long series of show trials, and President Obama and several European leaders were among the critics. |
| In a telephone call to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last week, Mr. Obama urged Mr. Putin to release Lieutenant Savchenko. Mr. Putin rejected the request, according to a statement by his spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, saying he could not interfere in the judicial process. | In a telephone call to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last week, Mr. Obama urged Mr. Putin to release Lieutenant Savchenko. Mr. Putin rejected the request, according to a statement by his spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, saying he could not interfere in the judicial process. |
| Several Western and Ukrainian diplomats were on hand to witness the announcement of the verdict, as were some of Lieutenant Savchenko’s relatives and a dozen supporters, including members of the Ukrainian Parliament, as well as a small army of reporters. | Several Western and Ukrainian diplomats were on hand to witness the announcement of the verdict, as were some of Lieutenant Savchenko’s relatives and a dozen supporters, including members of the Ukrainian Parliament, as well as a small army of reporters. |
| Lieutenant Savchenko will not appeal the court’s decision because she does not believe Russian courts can judge her fairly, her lead lawyer, Mark Feygin, said. She also asked her lawyers to announce that she would go on a dry hunger strike 10 days after the verdict, when it comes into force. The Ukrainian pilot has gone on dry hunger strikes several times before, including this month. | Lieutenant Savchenko will not appeal the court’s decision because she does not believe Russian courts can judge her fairly, her lead lawyer, Mark Feygin, said. She also asked her lawyers to announce that she would go on a dry hunger strike 10 days after the verdict, when it comes into force. The Ukrainian pilot has gone on dry hunger strikes several times before, including this month. |