8 March 2016
Ukrainian community of Australia implores PM to demand the release of Nadiya Savchenko
The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) calls on the Australian government to demand the release of former Ukrainian Air Force pilot, Nadiya Savchenko, who faces 23 years of political imprisonment if found guilty by a Russian court.
The 34 year-old Member of Ukrainian Parliament and delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in absentia, has been awaiting trial since being kidnapped and transported to Russia in 2014 by pro-Russian rebels. She was charged with the deaths of two Russian journalists whilst serving with a voluntary battalion in east Ukraine.
AFUO Chairman, Stefan Romaniw said “The prosecution by Russian authorities of Nadiya Savchenko is in clear violation of international law and clause 5 of the Minsk Protocol of 5 September 2014. We call upon the Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs to demand her release.”
Ukrainian diaspora the world over have been lobbying their governments for the past 18 months to demand her release. Australian Ukrainians will gather on 9 March as part of an international campaign, including a social media storm, to raise awareness for Savchenko’s imprisonment. The AFUO has invited Amnesty International, Australian Women Pilots Association and the National Council of Women of Australia to join them.
Savchenko was denied a closing statement on her final day in court for what her lawyers have described as a show trial. She has vowed a second hunger strike, the first of which lasted for 83 days.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: STEFAN ROMANIW 0419 531 255
