Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Stéphane Dion on March 8 issued the following statement of concern about Nadiya Savchenko.
I am gravely concerned about the health of Nadiya Savchenko, Ukrainian pilot, member of Ukraine’s Parliament and member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, who has been unlawfully detained by Russia since June 2014. She was put on trial in a Russian court, and on March 4, 2016, following the postponement by the court of her closing remarks, Ms. Savchenko, already on a hunger strike, began to refuse water.
Canada has repeatedly underlined that Ms. Savchenko’s transfer to Russia was illegal, the charges brought against her politically motivated and her treatment during her detention a matter of grave concern. The court process has been marked by irregularities from the start.
With regard to Ms. Savchenko’s rapidly failing health, we appeal to Russia to act compassionately by immediately releasing her and returning her to friends, colleagues and family in Ukraine.