Member of Parliament (independent) Nadiia Savchenko, who is under arrest in a detention facility of the Ukrainian Security Service in Kyiv, has decided to interrupt her hunger strike for a new polygraph test, her Facebook page says.
“Due to the fact that for almost two months the investigators have not provided the results of her polygraph test, Nadiia Savchenko has decided to interrupt her hunger strike for another test,” the message reads.
“The defense is preparing a relevant request for a psycho-physiological examination with the polygraph,” Savchenko’s lawyer Kostiantyn Hloba said. “By the way, it will [be conducted] by a government expert institution. I hope the investigation will assess the request to establish the true intentions of Savchenko.”
The lawyer noted that he personally “will be happy with any position of a pre-trial investigation agency as for the polygraph.”
The message also notes that it will be 70 days on May 30 since the beginning of Savchenko’s hunger strike, which she went on as she considered the conclusion on her to be unlawful.
As reported, on March 22, the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada granted the prosecutor general’s recommendation and gave its consent to prosecute, detain, and arrest Savchenko. The same day, law enforcement officials notified Savchenko that she was being treated as a suspect at parliament, after which they escorted her to the offices of the SBU branch for Kyiv and Kyiv region.
The recommendation that Savchenko be deprived of parliamentary immunity from prosecution was made as part of criminal proceedings opened on counts of preparations for change or dismantling of the constitutional system or for the seizure of power by a group of individuals acting in concert, preparations for assassinating a statesperson or a public figure by a group of individuals acting in concert, preparations for a terrorist attack by a group of people acting in concert, the establishment of a terrorist group, and the illegal handling of weapons, ammunition, or explosives by a group of people acting in concert.
Kyiv’s Shevchenkivsky District Court ruled on March 23 to place Savchenko under arrest pending trial for 59 days, until May 20. Kyiv’s Appeals Court upheld the ruling.
On April 17, the procedure for conducting forensic psychological examination of Savchenko using a polygraph was completed.
On May 15, Kyiv’s Shevchenkivsky District Court extended the measure of restraint in the form of detention for Savchenko until July 13.
