Lawyer for Russian man Alexandrov convicted in Ukraine rules out applying for his pardon

11:04, 19.04.2016 1 min read

Valentin Rybin, the defense attorney of the Russian citizen Alexander Alexandrov convicted in Ukraine, has dismissed a suggestion made to him by Nadia Savchenko's lawyer Ilya Novikov – that he apply for his client's pardon – as "absolutely unacceptable."

"Today, I spoke to Novikov, who suggested that instead of filing an appeal, I should write a pardon petition. And that they, in turn, would facilitate this," the defense lawyer said on Hromadske TV on Monday.

At the same time, Rybin stressed that this is "absolutely unacceptable" for Alexandrov's defense.

The lawyer also said he and his client will discuss a possible appeal only on Tuesday. "My client has yet to express his opinion on the verdict. I am meeting with Alexander tomorrow, and we will discuss this verdict," Rybin said.

It was reported that, on Monday, a panel of judges at the Holosiyivsky district court in the city of Kyiv, sentenced Alexandrov and another Russian, Yevgeny Yerofeyev, who were captured in the conflict zone in the Luhansk region last May, to 14 years of imprisonment each on the charge of terrorism.