Savchenko, Ruban released from custody, pretrial confinement term not extended
Member of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada (unaligned) Nadiia Savchenko and ex-chief of the Officer Corps center for freeing prisoners Volodymyr Ruban have been released from custody in the chambers of Kyiv region's Brovary town court inasmuch as at midnight from April 15 to April 16 the term of their pretrial confinement was not extended.
The correspondent ruling was made by the court after midnight — on Tuesday.
Savchenko is suspected of committing crimes under Part 1 of Article 109 (actions aimed at forcibly changing or overthrowing the constitutional system or seizing state power), Part 1 of Article 14, Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 109 (actions aimed at forcibly changing or overthrowing the constitutional system or at seizing state power), Part 1 of Article 14, Part 2 of Article 28, Article 112 (encroachment on the life of a state or public figure), Part 1 of Article 14, Part 3 of Article 258 (terrorist act), Part 1 of Article 258-3 (the creation of a terrorist group or a terrorist organization) and Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 263 (illegal handling of weapons, military supplies or explosives) of Ukraine's Criminal Code.
Savchenko has been in pretrial custody since March 23, 2018.
Ruban was detained on March 8, 2018 at a checkpoint in Donbas with an arsenal of weapons, which was being transported from Russia-occupied territory to Ukraine-controlled territory. On March 9, Kyiv's Shevchenkivsky district court arrested him.
Ruban is suspected of committing criminal offenses under Part 1 of Article 14, Part 3 of Article 258 (terrorist act), Part 1 of Article 263 (illegal handling of weapons, military supplies or explosives) of Ukraine's Criminal Code.
On February 25, Ukraine's Supreme Court ruled that the Savchenko-Ruban case was to be considered in Kyiv's Solomiansky district court.
On March 26, the panel of judges of the Solomiansky district court granted the petition of lawyers for Savchenko and Ruban to disqualify the judge panel, after which the case was transferred to the Kyiv appeals court to determine the jurisdiction of the case.
On March 29, Kyiv's appeals court sent an indictment to the Supreme Court in the Savchenko-Ruban case to determine jurisdiction. But on April 3, the Supreme Court returned the indictment in this case to the Kyiv appeals court.
The Kyiv appeals court referred the case to Kyiv's Darnytsky district court. But on April 11, the latter granted the petition of Ruban's lawyer Valentyn Rybin to disqualify the panel of judges, and the case was again sent to Kyiv's appeals court.
On April 12, Kyiv's appeals court referred the Savchenko-Ruban case to Kyiv region's Brovary town court.