Savchenko comes back to Moscow where no one needs her

Nadiya Savchenko, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, arrived in Moscow on October 26th to take part in the hearing at the Supreme Court of Russia on the case of two Ukrainian nationals. The two Ukrainians, members of the right-wing extremist organization UNA-UNSO (banned in Russia), Nikolai Karpyuk and Stanislav Klyh, were convicted of fighting against Russian federal troops in Chechnya in 1994-1995.

Nadiya (Nadezhda) Savchenko had been earlier convicted in Russia in the case of the murder of two Russian journalists in the Donbas.

"Nadiya Savchenko has come in Moscow to take part in the hearing of the appeal of citizens Karpyuk and Klyh at the Supreme Court," lawyer Ilya Novikov wrote in his page on Twitter.

In a post on Facebook, Savchenko had announced her intention to come to Moscow for the hearing despite possible mixed assessments of her visit to Russia in Ukraine.

A court of Chechnya had earlier sentenced the above-mentioned Ukrainians to 22.5 and 20 years in a strict regime colony.

Pravda.Ru requested a comment on the situation from Ukrainian human rights activist, lawyer, journalist and social activist Tatiana Montyan.

"Why do you think Savchenko has arrived in Moscow?"

"I have no clue about this, but I think that no one needs her anymore and no one is going to promote her anymore either. She may throw a scene in the courtroom, but this is not likely to happen."

"Karpyuk was arrested in Russia in March 2014, and Klyh - in August of the same year. Representatives of the Russian Investigative Committee said that they were in the gang that consisted of members of the nationalist organization UNA-UNSO. According to Russian investigators, in 1994-1995, they fought in Chechnya against Russian federal forces. Karpyuk is said to be one of the leaders of UNA-UNSO. He is also a representative of the Ukrainian extremist organization the Right Sector. This organization is banned in Russia. What could be the prospects for this appeal?"

"I'm not familiar with this case, so I can not even guess what the outcome might be. It was Ukrainian patriots who created these two people - Karpyuk and Klyh - and there is evidence to prove that.

"As for Savchenko, I'm sure that she came to Russia for some PR for herself, because she failed to get some in Ukraine. In Ukraine, she has disappointed even those who were supportive of her when she was staying in prison in Russia."

The head of the Department of Constitutional and International Law, Doctor of Law, Professor Vladimir Tabolin also shared his opinion about Nadiya Savchenko's visit to Moscow.

"Savchenko wrote on her page that she was coming to Moscow to support the convicted nationalists at least with her presence in the courtroom. She wrote that Ukrainians do not dump their people. The person who killed civilians in the Donbass has come to her enemy's capital again to support the nationalists, who were convicted of killing Russian military men in Chechnya. Why does Russia need such a visitor? Why was she allowed to enter Russia?"

"There is no reason to deny entry to Russia for her. She was pardoned, which means that Russia does not have any claims to her, and her rights in Russia can not be restricted either. Like any other Ukrainian citizen, she has the right to come to Russia for 90 days. Russia has not imposed any sanctions on her.

"Therefore, we are not talking about any violations here. There are some moral things that we can hardly accept, but she is a member of the Ukrainian parliament, she holds a certain status, and she has come to Russia as an official face.

"At the same time, I do not think that the appeal will bring any results. It is only the Russian president, who can pardon those two Ukrainians, but I do not think that there are any reasons for that to happen. Their guilt has been established and proven. There are no reasons for the court to revise its earlier adopted decision. For Ukraine and for Savchenko, those two nationalists are heroes, but they are criminals for Russia. This is a common phenomenon that we have in our relations with Ukraine, unfortunately."

Noteworthy, Putin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Savchenko's arrival in Moscow had not been coordinated with the Kremlin.

Nadiya Savchenko was accused in Russia of the murder of Russian journalists, attempted murder of civilians and illegal crossing of the Russian-Ukrainian border. She was sentenced to 22 years in prison, but was pardoned on May 25 by Putin's decree and exchanged for two Russian citizens.

Pravda.Ru
Read article on the Russian version of Pravda.Ru