German Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid Christoph Strasser, in response to reports that Russia has banned Vira Savchenko, the sister of MP Nadia Savchenko, from entering the country, has said that such measures would constitute a major hindrance to the work of Nadia Savchenko's defense team.

"I am very concerned at reports of Vira Savchenko, the sister of Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko, being refused entry to Russia on 13 October. Vira Savchenko is an important witness for the defense in the trial currently under way against her sister in that country. Denying her entry to Russia would constitute a major hindrance to the work of the defense team," German Federal Foreign Office quotes the German ombudsman as saying.

According to a statement posted on German Foreign Office website, the German government has already made several emphatic calls for Nadia Savchenko to be released.

"The trial in which she stands accused contravenes the principles of due process. I again appeal to the Russian authorities to release Nadia Savchenko with immediate effect," he stressed.

Nadia Savchenko is a Ukrainian military pilot and has been a member of the Ukrainian parliament since October 2014. She is currently standing trial in the Russian town of Donetsk, accused of being involved in the deaths of two Russian journalists and illegally crossing the border to Russia. Savchenko denies the charges, saying that she was captured by separatist forces in Ukraine in June 2014 and taken to Russia against her will. Her sister, Vira, said she was refused entry to Russia at the Ukrainian-Russian border on October 13, 2015 and has been banned from entering the country for five years.