The decision on the future of Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko should be made by investigators and the court, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at an annual press conference on Dec.18.
Putin said the Russian law enforcement agencies have information that Savchenko acted as a fire coordinator when Russian journalists were killed in south-eastern Ukraine.
“If the preliminary investigation and the trial finds that she was not involved in that and she is not guilty of anything, she will be immediately released. If she is found guilty and if she was involved in that killing, I assume that the Russian court will make an appropriate decision and she will serve her punishment in accordance with the court ruling,” Putin said.
Nevertheless, Putin reiterated that Russia has presumption of innocence and no one has a right to declare a person guilty before he is found guilty in court.
