April 15, 2016

Nadiya Savchenko: a profile in courage

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Dear Editor:

Former Lt. Nadiya Savchenko, a Ukrainian military pilot imprisoned in Russia on trumped-up charges, has made worldwide headlines protesting her innocence and demanding release. She is a pawn in a nasty piece of Russian bravado that leverages Russian ambitions for hegemony in Eastern Europe against Ukraine’s interest in sovereignty and membership in the European Union and NATO.

Ms. Savchenko had the misfortune to be abducted in June 2014 in eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian operatives who transported and imprisoned her in Russia against her will.

She was accused and tried on charges of complicity in the deaths of two Russian journalists in a mortar attack on the day she was abducted. On March 22, a Russian court sentenced Ms. Savchenko to 22 years in prison for allegedly causing the deaths of the journalists by directing mortar fire.

According to the defense, Lt . Savchenko was already a captive at the time the mortar attack occurred, negating any possibility of nefarious activity on her part in the attack. In her own defense, Ms. Savchenko asked for lie detector tests, but the requests were repeatedly denied.

During her 20-month imprisonment, Lt. Savchenko was interrogated, kept in solitary confinement and forced to participate in “psychological evaluations.”

On February 2, Susan Ormiston, senior correspondent for CBS News, reported that Ms. Savchenko testified: “I am a soldier. You are treating me like a murderer.”

To protest her detention, she has initiated two hunger strikes, saying that these are the only weapons she has left to fight this injustice. The second hunger strike is ongoing. Requests for independent medical examinations of Ms. Savchenko have been refused. She remains defiant.

On March 9, worldwide “Free Savchenko” rallies took place calling for her release and return home to Ukraine.

The U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has called on Russia to meet its obligations under the Minsk II ceasefire agreement and release Ms. Savchenko and the other imprisoned combatants.

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Powers have weighed in on the matter.

In Ukraine, Ms. Savchenko has captured the hearts and minds of the people and is a national hero. Without a doubt, she is an individual graced with courage and valor who expands the role of women beyond the horizon and into the future.

Nadiya Savchenko’s courage blankets and protects all of us. For this, she deserves our utmost support and attention.

Rochester, N.Y.

The letter-writer is president of the Rochester Ukrainian Group

The letter above is based on an essay published on March 26 in the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, N.Y. It was headlined “Ukrainian pilot a profile in courage.” It is printed here with that newspaper’s permission.

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