MOSCOW: Jailed Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko has been given forms to complete for extradition from Russia, one of her lawyers said on Thursday.
Savchenko was captured by Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine in 2014, and was sentenced to 22 years in prison last month for her alleged role in the deaths of two Russian journalists.
Her capture and trial became a rallying point for Ukrainians at home and abroad. The extradition procedure implies that a convict should continue serving the sentence at home, but that is unlikely in Savchenko’s case because as an elected member of Ukraine’s parliament she is immune from prosecution.
Savchenko’s lawyer, Mark Feygin, told reporters in Kiev that Savchenko has been given extradition documents to complete, but he believes her transfer is still weeks away. Feygin said he got the information from Savchenko’s sister who visited her, and will know more when another Savchenko attorney visits her on Friday.
Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2016
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