Brussels, 15/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - In a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday 13 April, 46 MEPs (of 17 nationalities and from 5 political groups - mainly from the EPP, but also from ALDE, the ECR, S&D and Greens/EFA) call on him to release Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko immediately and unconditionally. They also call for the release of film director Oleg Sentsov, activist Olexandr Kolchenko and other Ukrainian citizens who are held “illegally” in Russia.
In their letter, which was sent at the initiative of Petras Austrevicius MEP (ALDE, Lithuania), the MEPs tell Putin that he will be held “personally and directly responsible for not preventing a tragic outcome before it becomes too late”, as they believe that Savchenko's health is extremely fragile.
Expressing their strong protest as her trial, the MEPs warn that they “will never recognise the verdict against Nadiya Savchenko”, which they regard as “illegal and fabricated” and describe as a “politically-orchestrated shameful decision of the Russian court”.
The MEPS state that the release of these Ukrainian citizens is “one of the necessary steps towards possible normalisation of the relations between the European Union and the Russian Federation”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)