WASHINGTON—Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation, also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, today called for the immediate release of former Ukrainian fighter pilot Nadiya Savchenko from a Russian jail.
“Nadiya is yet another victim of the Russian government’s contempt for human dignity,” Smith said. “We must recognize that this isn’t just about her, but it manifests the Russian government’s aggression towards Ukraine – which wishes to remain free, independent, and democratic.”
Also today, the Russian government began Savchenko’s trial – a show trial intended to demoralize the Ukrainian people – and in response the House passed H. Res. 50, expressing its support for her cause. The resolution included Smith’s amendment, which substantially strengthened the resolution by calling for the imposition of personal sanctions against individuals responsible for the kidnapping, arrest, and imprisonment of Savchenko and other Ukrainian citizens illegally incarcerated in Russia.
“With its illegal annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine, Russia has made a mockery of its international commitments, including all ten core OSCE principles enshrined in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act,” Smith continued. “Nadiya’s illegal detention, along with that of other Ukrainian citizens held hostage by Moscow, represents yet another in a long list of violations of international agreements and the norms of civilized behavior.”
Savchenko was abducted by pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and illegally transferred across the border to Russia, where she has remained imprisoned and subject to interrogations, involuntary psychiatric evaluations, and solitary confinement.
