Vira Savchenko /Photo from UNIAN
The Chechen law enforcement agencies have attempted to detain public defender Vira Savchenko, the sister of Ukrainian captive pilot Nadia Savchenko, during court hearings in Grozny on cases of Ukrainian citizens Stanislav Klykh and Mykola Karpyuk, who are accused of participating in war in Chechnya against the Russian army in the 1990's, according to lawyer Ilya Novikov.
"They want to detain Vira Savchenko for insulting the judge in the Karpyuk case," he tweeted.
Later, he wrote that she had been released.
"They have let Vira Savchenko out of the Supreme Court of Chechnya, the documents have been returned. The atmosphere has been very nervous since the first days of the litigation," he tweeted.
In addition, according to Novikov, Vira Savchenko may be deprived of status of Karpyuk's public defender.
As UNIAN reported earlier, in late August, the Investigation Committee of the Russian Federation announced it had sent a criminal case to court against two citizens of Ukraine Karpyuk and Klykh, who are charged with fighting against Russian troops in Chechnya on the side of local militias in the 1990's.
Karpyuk was kidnapped by the Russian security services in Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine in March 2014. Klykh was arrested in the Russian city of Orel in August 2014.
Though both were arrested more than a year ago, the Russian authorities have let a Ukrainian consul visit them only a few days ago.