Russian court to question Ukrainian ex-pilot, no polygraph to be used

ROSTOV-ON-DON, September 29. /TASS/. Former Ukrainian military pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, charged with complicity in killing Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine, will be questioned by a court in southern Russia on Tuesday, her lawyer Mark Feygin has said.

No lie detector will be used during the questioning, the lawyer said. "On Tuesday, there will be no polygraph, most likely this will be a questioning," Feygin said.

A polygraph test is a separate procedure that does not take place during the court hearing, he explained. The procedure is held simultaneously with a psychiatric examination based on a court ruling.

The trial of Savchenko began in the Donetsk city court in the Rostov region on September 22. Savchenko denied her guilt, saying that the case against her is "lie." The Ukrainian also told the court she planned to pass a lie detector test to prove her innocence.

The court allowed Savchenko to give evidence at any moment. The questioning could take the whole day, the lawyer said.

Savchenko, 34, is charged with complicity in the murder of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine last summer. Savchenko also stands charged with attempted murder of civilians who could suffer as a result of artillery fire and illegally crossing the Russian border.

Russian investigators say that Savchenko, the gunner of a Mi-24 helicopter, joined the notorious Aidar battalion during combat operations in the much-troubled Luhansk region of Ukraine in June 2014.

Upon noting the position of a filming crew of the Russian State Broadcasting Company and other civilians, Savchenko allegedly reported the data to mortar-equipped personnel who opened fire on the crew and the civilians. As a result, correspondent Igor Kornelyuk and sound engineer Anton Voloshin were killed.

If found guilty, Savchenko faces up to 25 years in prison.

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