Russian court finds Ukrainian pilot complicit in death of two journalists

Judge began reading out the verdict in trial of Nadiya Savchenko, accused of directing artillery fire that killed Russian journalists.

A Russian court has found the Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko complicit in the killing of two journalists, as a controversial trial in the south of the country draws to a close, The Guardian reports.

On Monday, one of the panel of three judges began the lengthy process of reading the verdict in the case, which has caused an international outcry. The judge, Leonid Stepanenko, said Savchenko had “deliberately inflicted death on two persons, acting according to a conspiracy and motivated by hatred and enmity”.

Despite Russian agencies widely reporting that the court had found Savchenko guilty, her lawyers said that during the first part of the verdict the judge was merely summarising the prosecution arguments.

Nevertheless, few have any doubt that the pilot will be found guilty, with the first part of the verdict appearing to extinguish any hope of the contrary. The judge is expected to finish reading the verdict and announce the sentence on Tuesday.

Prosecutors asked for a 23-year jail sentence for Savchenko. The team of defence lawyers has long said they had little hope of a not-guilty verdict in Russia’s politicised justice system but were hoping that after sentencing Savchenko could be made part of an exchange deal between Russia and Ukraine.