Draft statement of the Riigikogu in support of releasing Nadiya Savchenko was accepted for legislative proceedings
By a decision of the Board of the Riigikogu, draft statement In Support of Releasing Illegally Imprisoned Nadiya Savchenko (195 AE), submitted by 66 members of the Riigikogu on 9 March, was accepted for legislative proceedings. The Foreign Affairs Committee was appointed as the lead committee.
The statement initiated by the members of the Riigikogu on 9 March 2016 expresses support to the immediate release of Member of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Nadiya Savchenko, who is being illegally detained in Russia, and proposes to impose sanctions against the officials of the Russian Federation who are responsible for the capture, detention and illegal trial and ban them from entering the European Union.
In the statement, the members of the Riigikogu express deep concern over the fate of Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Member Nadiya Savchenko.
On 17 June 2014, Nadiya Savchenko was kidnapped on the territory of Ukraine by members of the so-called Donbass People’s Militia. In the end of June 2014, the Donbass separatists posted a video recording of the interrogation of detained Savchenko. In July 2014, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation announced that Savchenko “crossed the Russian border on her own accord”.
Nadiya Savchenko is a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
It is obvious that by imprisoning and illegally detaining Nadiya Savchenko, Russia has violated and is violating several international conventions, including the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 1949 and the Minsk Protocol of 5 September 2014, point 2014 of which requests “immediate release of all hostages and illegally detained persons”.
The Riigikogu calls on the Russian Federation to immediately release Nadiya Savchenko and hand her over to Ukraine.
The Riigikogu calls for banning the officials of the Russian Federation who are responsible for the capture, detention and illegal trial of Nadiya Savchenko from entering the European Union.
Riigikogu Press Service
Gunnar Paal, +372 631 6351, +372 51 90 2837
