01:28Russia: Ukrainian officer Savchenko’s final hearing postponed
The final hearing of Nadezhda Savchenko, the Ukrainian officer on trial for the murder of two Russian journalists, was postponed a day after the prosecutors asked for a 23-year prison sentence in the Donetsk City Court in Rostov region, Thursday.
Addressing press after the hearing, Savchenko's lawyer Ilya Novikov stated that she would not make an appeal in the case of being convicted. "This is her firm decision. She doesn't change such decisions," he said. "To file an appeal means to demonstrate that hypothetically she believes that in Russia there may be a judge or a court that will work in another way. But she hasn't believed in that for a long time already," he added.
On Wednesday, Savchenko threatened to continue a hunger-strike while accusing Russian journalists of allegedly ignoring security measures. "If they wore body armour and helmets, they would have survived. If they kept out of places where they were not meant to have been, they would still be alive," she declared.
The Ukrainian officer is being charged with complicity in the co-execution of two or more people, motivated by alleged hatred towards a social group. Savchenko is also being charged with the attempted murder of civilians.
In 2014, Savchenko volunteered to fight with the Aidar Battalion in eastern Ukraine. Before this, as a first lieutenant in the Ukrainian Ground Forces, she served with the Ukrainian peacekeeping troops in Iraq.
01:28The final hearing of Nadezhda Savchenko, the Ukrainian officer on trial for the murder of two Russian journalists, was postponed a day after the prosecutors asked for a 23-year prison sentence in the Donetsk City Court in Rostov region, Thursday.
Addressing press after the hearing, Savchenko's lawyer Ilya Novikov stated that she would not make an appeal in the case of being convicted. "This is her firm decision. She doesn't change such decisions," he said. "To file an appeal means to demonstrate that hypothetically she believes that in Russia there may be a judge or a court that will work in another way. But she hasn't believed in that for a long time already," he added.
On Wednesday, Savchenko threatened to continue a hunger-strike while accusing Russian journalists of allegedly ignoring security measures. "If they wore body armour and helmets, they would have survived. If they kept out of places where they were not meant to have been, they would still be alive," she declared.
The Ukrainian officer is being charged with complicity in the co-execution of two or more people, motivated by alleged hatred towards a social group. Savchenko is also being charged with the attempted murder of civilians.
In 2014, Savchenko volunteered to fight with the Aidar Battalion in eastern Ukraine. Before this, as a first lieutenant in the Ukrainian Ground Forces, she served with the Ukrainian peacekeeping troops in Iraq.