The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its resolute protest over the decision of the Basmanny District Court of Moscow, the Russian Federation, of February 10, to extend the detention for Ukraine’s Member of Parliament, Member of Ukraine’s PACE Delegation Nadiya Savchenko.

The Court has taken into account neither evidence compiled by the defense, proving noninvolvement of the Ukraine’s citizen in incriminated deeds, nor the petition to change preventive measure for N.Savchenko submitted along with guarantees of Ukraine’s Embassy in Russia and Ukraine’s Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, nor a considerable deterioration of health of N.Savchenko.

Moreover, the Russian authorities have ignored PACE call to immediately free N.Savchenko as a person enjoying diplomatic immunity of PACE Member, thus, violating its obligations as a Council of Europe member and a party to a number of international conventions.

In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine emphasizes that Russia bears the entire responsibility for the life and health of Nadiya Savchenko who has been on a hunger strike for 60 days already to protest against her illegal taking out to Russia’s territory and detention.

We demand that the Russian Federation immediately free Nadiya Savchenko and all otherRussia-held political prisoners – citizens of Ukraine.

We call upon the international community to strengthen political and diplomatic pressure upon the Russian Federation to free all Ukrainian citizens who continue to be illegally detained in the territory of Russia.