Ukrainian pilot held captive in Russia refused jury trial

Moscow court denies jury trial in a case of Nadia Savchenko, captive Ukrainian fighter pilot and MP, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

The high profile case was transferred to the prosecutor’s office on July 06, according to Savchenko’s lawyer Nikolai Polozov. The defense team has been demanding the criminal case be closed due to lack of evidence and numerous flaws into criminal proceedings, Ukraine Today reports.

Savchenko has remained in custody in Russia since July 2014, being charged for complicity in the killing of two Russian journalists in the conflict area in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian female pilot denies all charges stressing that she has been wrongfully funneled from Ukrainian territory to Russia after having being captured by pro-Russian militants in the Donbas.

Despite being elected a Ukaine’s delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in January, the court refused to take her status into account and denied her release.

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