Russian court extends Savchenko's arrest for six months

Donetsk city court of Russia's Rostov region has decided to extend arrest of Ukrainian pilot, MP and member of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE Nadia Savchenko for another six months, Savchenko’s lawyer Mark Feygin wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

"Savchenko will remain in custody," he tweeted.

The lawyer also said that the prosecution had requested to extend the arrest of Savchenko for six months.

The defense relied on the status of Ukrainian pilot as a delegation member to PACE and the immunity, which should have prevented the extension of the detention period.

Savchenko was abducted by Russia-backed militants in Donbas last summer, and then taken to Russia, where she was charged with being involved in the death of Russian journalists. However, the defense claims she couldn't have been involved in the death as she had been captured before the journalists were killed.

On June 10, Moscow's City Court prolonged Savchenko's arrest until September 30, 2015, at the Investigative Committee's request.

On July 2, the Investigative Committee announced that Savchenko and three of her attorneys completed the examination of the case materials.

Savchenko is being accused of murder and also of attempted murder, according to the PGO statement.

Savchenko faces up to 25 years in Russian prison, according to her lawyer.