Russia’s Supreme Court upholds sentence in Karpyuk, Klykh case

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has upheld the verdict in the case of Ukrainian citizens Mykola Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh, who were convicted in Grozny to 22.5 and 20 years in prison respectively for murder of Russian soldiers during the war in Chechnya.

This is reported by Mediazona portal.

Lawyer Ilya Novikov said that entry of the sentence into force opened up new opportunities for negotiations on the exchange of Klykh and Karpyuk.

MP of Ukraine Nadiya Savchenko, who attended the court hearing, delivered a little speech about political prisoners before the cameras.

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation started to consider the appeal against the sentence in the case of Mykola Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh, who had been illegally convicted in Grozny for alleged participation in the Chechen war, at 10:00 today.

The prisoners took part in the hearing in Moscow via videoconference from Grozny-1 remand prison.

They said they had become the victims of provocation of the Russian special services and did not hope for impartial hearing of the case by Russian judicial authorities.

Klykh stressed that the charges were trumped-up, and they were held by Russia’s Federal Service and Main Intelligence Department, perhaps, for obtaining ransom.

The lawyer provided documentary evidence that Klykh had been in Kyiv in late 1994 and early 1995 and had been passing end-of-semester exams at the university. This alibi was confirmed by several witnesses.

In addition, the defense emphasized that the defendants had been brutally tortured during the investigation, and the accused had incriminated themselves under torture.

As reported, leader of the Ukrainian National Assembly (UNA) Mykola Karpyuk was arrested in Russia in March 2014. Ukrainian journalist Stanislav Klykh was detained in the territory of the Russian Federation in September 2014.

In May 2016, the Supreme Court of the Chechen Republic delivered a verdict in their case: both men were found guilty of involvement in the fighting on the side of the Republic of Ichkeria in 1990s and were sentenced to 22.5 and 20 years in prison respectively. Both deny their guilt and say they were detained illegally and gave testimony under tortures.

“Memorial” human rights center recognized Mykola Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh as political prisoners.