A questionable case

Nadia Savchenko arrived at the court house in Donetsk in a police van. She was shielded from the eyes of the press by a truck which was driven in front of the entrance, obscuring her from view. Security around the court was tightened for the trial with armed police guarding the surrounding roads and entrances to the court.

She stands accused of directing artillery to kill Russian journalists operating in eastern Ukraine. The authorities say she crossed the border from Ukraine illegally by posing as a refugee but the Ukrainian government says she was abducted by pro-Russian separatists and handed over to Russia.

Nadia Savchenko served in Iraq and in Ukraine as a helicopter pilot and she is regarded as a hero. She has been in detention for more than a year and spent more than 80 days on hunger strike in custody. Outside the court her sister, Vera Savchenko, told Deutsche Welle that Ms Savchenko was now "tired of Russia."

Although the court was open, journalists were not allowed to enter the courtroom and instead had to watch proceedings from a room with a television screen nearby.

In court, Nadia Savchenko pleaded not guilty and, according to Russian state media, said, "The whole case is a lie from the beginning to the end. I did not see where the journalists were and I never knew them. I never shot at unarmed people. I never was an artillery gunner, I am a soldier, not a killer."

The European Union and United States have criticised her detention and called on Russia to release her. In comments to state media, the Russian authorities say her rights have not been violated.

The trial is being held in the Russian town of Donetsk which shares its name with the war-torn city across the border in eastern Ukraine. Standing outside the court, a policeman said the town is so close to the region of Lugansk in eastern Ukraine, currently under pro-Russian separatist control, that, during the fighting, some of the buildings vibrate.

Nadia Savchenko's legal team applied to have her case heard in Moscow but the request was denied. They say the trial is being held in a small town away from the capital in order to keep her out of the media spotlight.

Speaking to Deutsche Welle before the trial, her lawyer Mark Feygin said, "we don't have much chance [of justice] because in Russia there is no justice. We are relying most of all on political support and international pressure to free Nadiya Savchenko."

Vera Savchenko said, "We don't believe in justice here, the law doesn't work here, the West thinks that the court will work, but it does not. Only one person is at work here and he orders people what to do."

Recently a Ukrainian filmmaker, Oleg Sentsov, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Russia on terror charges. The verdict was condemned in the West as being politically motivated.

Nadia Savchenko faces a sentence of up to 25 years in prison, if she is found guilty.