“Free Nadia!”
MEP: “All people must be alerted, and all the organizations that still live according to the norms of the civilized world must be involved”
On February 10, Moscow’s Basmanny Court extended the arrest of Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko until May 13. The illusion on Nadia’s release, who has been on a hunger strike against her illegal detention at the Russian prison for 61 days, vanished even before judge Artur Karpov, who was involved in the Magnitsky case, brought in the verdict. Information about the extension of the detention appeared in Russian mass media approximately an hour before the verdict was announced.
The Day got in touch with MP Ivan KRULKO (Batkivshchyna) who was present in court. “The defense attorneys asked to change the measure of restrain for house arrest at the Ukrainian Embassy in Moscow. The latter already confirmed and provided guarantee for issuing housing for Nadia’s house arrest. This might be the compromise that would let Nadia stop the hunger strike, restore her health, and therefore, save her life. She’s holding on the best she can,” Krulko said. At the same time, he said that everyone understands “who they deal with.” “Judge Karpov should also be taken into consideration, he was involved in the Magnitsky case, he is under the EU entry ban. And since the PACE also joined the Magnitsky case, this judge should never even have been engaged in this case. Nadia Savchenko is a PACE member delegated by Ukraine, and the judge was biased towards her, since she represents an organization that imposed sanctions on him,” the MP adds.
When asked what Batkivshchyna does to release their “Number One,” Krulko answered that “the party members are doing their best to free Nadia.” “We have done everything on the parliamentary level. There were several appeals by the Verkhovna Rada to various institutions, and even the world’s religious leaders, including Pope Francis, so they would influence Russia and Putin. Moreover, there is no proof and reason for keeping her under arrest,” Krulko says.
According to Lithuania’s MEP Petras AUSTREVICIUS, what Russia is doing to Savchenko, is “completely incompatible with humanity, international law, and bilateral agreements.” “Russia’s leadership and entire Russian elite stay aloof from the civilized norms and principles. It is hard for me to find words for the accurate definition of the situation. All I see is revanche and an attempt to scare the troops who are fighting against the Russian aggression, an attempt to break down an individual, as it was done in the Soviet time. Those who had their own opinion, uninhibited thinking, and their own individual lifestyle were treated in the same way by the KGB. Now they deal with the FSB and Kremlin. The times are new, but nothing has changed,” said Austrevicius sharing his opinion.
At the same time, the MEP noted that “the previous course should be continued: moral and political support must be rallied.” “We are doing everything possible on our part. Every day, we send a letter to Brussels to the RF Ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov with a protest, in which we demand the release of Nadia Savchenko. Today my fourth colleague, she is Spanish, is on a one-day hunger strike to express solidarity with Savchenko,” he notes.
According to him, such support and informing “on what is going on in Russia” with individual people “leaves a trace.” People must be alerted, and all the organizations that still live according to the norms of the civilized world must be involved. We live in the 21st century, and turning to the way of communication offered by Russia is unacceptable,” Austrevicius sums up.
