Ambassadors of EU states to Russia will attend court hearings in trial of Ukrainian sailors

The ambassadors of the EU member states, who currently stay in the Russian Federation, will attend the court hearings in the trial of Ukrainian sailors - prisoners of war.

"I’ve just met with Ambassador of the European Union to the Russian Federation Markus Ederer. We discussed a number of issues. I provided the latest information about our prisoners of war and the planned court hearings on continuation of their pre-trial restriction. Markus Ederer assured me that the representatives of European states, who currently stay in the Russian Federation, will be present at the court hearings," Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova posted on Facebook after a meeting with Markus Ederer, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Russian Federation.

Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner thanked Ederer for the fact that the European community supported Ukraine in an effort to protect its citizens.

Denisova also reminded that the court hearings in the trial of the Ukrainian prisoners of war would be held in the Moscow’s Lefortovo District Court on April 17.

On November 25, 2018, Russian security forces seized three Ukrainian Navy vessels in the Kerch Strait and captured 24 Ukrainian servicemen. Three of them were wounded in the attack.

Subsequently, the seamen were taken to Moscow, where they are held in the Lefortovo remand prison. On January 15 and 16, a court in Moscow extended the arrest of Ukrainian seamen until the end of April.

All the detained Ukrainian sailors declared themselves the prisoners of war.

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