Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


        Russian Court Sentences Ukraine's Savchenko to 22 Years in Jail

   by Reuters

   A Russian court on Tuesday sentenced Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko
   to 22 years in jail after finding her guilty of complicity in the
   killing of two Russian journalists during the separatist conflict in
   eastern Ukraine.

   Savchenko, a 34-year-old who has become a national hero at home in
   Ukraine, was defiant as the verdict was read out, shouting out a
   Ukrainian song and forcing the judge to call a brief adjournment.

   Savchenko was captured by pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine in June
   2014 during the separatist conflict there and handed over to Russia
   where she was charged with directing mortar fire which killed the two
   Russian journalists.

   She has denied wrongdoing, and, from the glass and metal cage where she
   has been held in the courtroom, has often shouted her view that she is
   the victim of a show trial aimed at humiliating Ukraine.

   Russian officials have signaled that, once the trial is over, they may
   be open to negotiations about handing Savchenko over to Ukraine,
   possibly as part of a prisoner exchange.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/russia-savchenko-verdict/3248965.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/russia-savchenko-verdict/3248965.html