ODIHR attended Savchenko hearing in Moscow

WARSAW, 27 February 2015 – Two representatives from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights attended a court hearing on 25 February related to the case of Nadiya Savchenko, the Ukrainian Air Force pilot and Member of Parliament charged with complicity in the murder of two Russian journalists near Luhansk, Ukraine, in June 2014. At the hearing, the Moscow City Court reaffirmed that Savchenko should remain in pre-trial detention until 13 May 2015.

Michael Georg Link, Director of ODIHR, today reiterated the importance of OSCE commitments on fair-trial rights.

“In Moscow in 1991, OSCE participating States agreed to treat prisoners with dignity and to respect internationally recognized standards regarding the administration of justice,” Link said. “All states should continue to work to ensure that the right to a fair trial and the right not to be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention are respected.”

“We welcome the engagement of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation Ella Pamfilova in the Savchenko case,” Link said.

Savchenko denies all charges and is continuing a hunger strike begun in December 2014.