You're reading: Savchenko’s lawyers publish her last statement to court online

Editor's Note: The following is an English-language translation of imprisoned Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko’s last statement to the court, which her attorneys published on March 3. The judges in the Russian court postponed the court session at which Savchenko was to give her statement until March 9. Savchenko is imprisoned in Russia on bogus murder charges, and prosecutors are demanding a 23-year prison sentence for her. Savchenko started a dry hunger strike on March 4.

I do not acknowledge either fault, or the sentence, or the Russian
court. There will be no appeal in the case of a guilty verdict. I want the
entire civilized democratic world to understand that Russia is a third world
state with a totalitarian regime and a tyrant dictator, where human rights, as
well as international law, are ignored.

This is an absurd situation, when those who kidnap people and torture
them pretend afterwards that have the right to judge them. How can we talk
about a fair court here? There are no (proper) courts and investigations in
Russia! There is only a farce by the Kremlin’s puppets, and I think it is
unnecessary to waste time in my life taking part in it!

This is why there will be no appeal, but there will be the following:
after the verdict, I will extend my hunger strike for 10 more days, until the
verdict comes into force, regardless of whether there is a translation of the
verdict into Ukrainian, as they can drag their feet with the translation. In 10
days, I will announce a hunger strike without water, and then Russia will have
no more than 10 days to return me to Ukraine, where I was taken captive. And I
don’t care how they explain it. I heard (Ukrainian President) Petro Poroshenko has
good diplomatic skills. Well, I hope his diplomatic skills will be enough to
negotiate with one idiot. As he promised my mother that I would come home for
the May holidays of 2015.

And while (they) bargain over me, life will be leaving me, and Russia
will anyway return me to Ukraine – alive or dead. But will return!

And
through all these 10 days my sister will be standing day and night near the
prison gate, waiting to see whether I will be released or carried out. If you
imprison her – my mother will take her place, she is 77 years old. Will you
imprison her? Then my friend will take her place, and after them one Ukrainian
after another. Remember – you won’t stuff all of them in here! And while my
compatriots are standing here, ordinary honest Russians from the neighborhood
will start bringing them hot tea, sandwiches and warm blankets, as each of them
understands that any of their children could find themselves in my place – in
this prison of nations named Russia.

That’s
how Maidans (revolutions) start! Do you need something like that? It scares you
as much as fire does! So the Kremlin would do better to return me to Ukraine
soon, and alive!

And
the entire democratic world would do better to learn the lessons of history in
time, to remember that at some point Europe tolerated (Adolf) Hitler, (the
United States of) America was not firm enough, and it led to the World War II.
(Russian President Vladimir) Putin – is a tyrant with imperial aspirations
combined with a Napoleon (Bonaparte) and Hitler Complex. The bear does not
understand human language; it only understands the language of force. So, if we
don’t become more drastic and don’t define our proper priorities in time, we will
soon have World War III.

As a
politician, I won’t lend a hand to Russia in the political arena. It is useless
to lend a hand to someone who held you in handcuffs, and your nation in chains.
In making any political decision, I will always consider how it will influence
ordinary people, both in Ukraine and Russia. Because in Russia, despite
everything, there are many honest, kind and miserable people.