Valuable deposit

Mark Feigin - about the possibility of the exchange of Nadezhda Savchenko for Viktor Butin and Konstantin Yaroshenko

The Russian authorities are consulting on the exchange of the Ukrainian military personnel of Nadezhda Savchenko for a group of Russians, including the sentence of the sentence in the United States, Viktor But and Konstantin Yaroshenko. This was reported by "Interfax" with reference to informed sources. Earlier, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko expressed his readiness to exchange Savchenko for Russians Alexander Alexandrov and Evgeny Erofeev , detained in the zone of special operation in the Donbass. The press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said the day before that so far no decisions were made regarding the possible exchange of Savchenko. In Washington, they denied the information that negotiations on the exchange of Savchenko on Buta and Yaroshenko are underway.

Viktor Boot is serving a 25-year term in a prison in the United States for an attempt to conspire to kill American citizens by selling weapons to Columbian rebels from the FARC group. Konstantin Yaroshenko was sentenced by an American court to 20 years in prison for trying to deliver a large batch of cocaine in the United States.

Lawyer of Nadezhda Savchenko Mark Feigin in an interview with Radio Liberty emphasized that for him the main thing is that his client is free:

- Did you know about consultations about the possibility of exchange of Savchenko for Buta and Yaroshenko?

Victor Boot in the court of Bangkok. 2010

- No, I never had any specific data, despite my communication with American representatives. I was twice in the USA, in the State Department, in Congress discussed the possibility of assistance from the United States in the liberation of Savchenko. There were never specific surnames. This is first. Secondly, I have never heard about such an opportunity from those with whom I talked. It may well be that this is a stuffing from the Kremlin to offer such a scheme in public space. I would not exclude that this information became public without preliminary agreement. But I don’t care who Savchenko will be exchanged for! As a lawyer, I am interested in her go home as soon as possible. From my point of view, indeed, the proposal of Petro Poroshenko to exchange Savchenko for Russian troops Erofeev and Alexandrov was logical. Well, judge for yourself: they were captured in the village of Happiness, this is a few kilometers from the chukalovaya beam, where Savchenko herself was captured by the battalion "Zarya". The same military operations in the east of Ukraine, in the Donbass. As a result of military operations, both are captured.

Nadezhda Savchenko before the verdict. March 22, 2016

More than logical to exchange Savchenko for Erofeev and Alexandrov. However, as I understand it, in the Kremlin there is no great enthusiasm about this public proposal of Petro Poroshenko. Apparently, the Kremlin is much more interesting than other persons, about whom the unnamed source of Interfax announced. As I suppose, this is Ivanov, the head of the presidential administration, announced the possibility of exchanging on But and Yaroshenko and a certain list of unnamed persons, a non -public list. Apparently, these are employees of the Russian special services who are also held accountable or even condemned in the United States. In the near future I will meet with US representatives who are related to negotiations, and I will try to find out from them.

- You mentioned that you were in the USA, turned to Savchenko’s support. I well remember your words immediately after the verdict made her that if the defense of Savchenko did not deliberately made this process public, then, apparently, her fate would result in these 22 years in prison, which she was now convicted by the Russian court. But, it seems, support should have been that American officials would put pressure on the Kremlin. And then suddenly the question arises of the exchange of people kept in an American prison. In general, at least a little legal procedure do you imagine, which would make a similar exchange of legal?

Mark Feigin

-Firstly, different things were discussed, and different ideas were discussed. They were not discussed publicly, but this does not mean that some specific proposals sounded: but let's change Savchenko to Buta. No, it never sounded. Indeed, I insisted on this support. Incidentally, international pressure resulted in a call to President Obama President Putin with a demand to release Savchenko. This is a lot for such people. But after all, Ukrainian prisoners in Russia are not one Savchenko, there are Sentsov and Kolchenko who are already in the colonies, there is Salashenko, there is Vygovsky, there are Litvinov, who is now being judged, most likely, they will be convicted. That is, there are many reverse examples when there is no publicity of business - and we see how it ends. This ends with a term, and they do not say about these people, these people are, as it were. Of course, this tactics of publicity does not work everywhere. And the person himself should be located to this, this is also very important. And the business of Savchenko was doomed to publicity, and just true articulation-mine and my colleagues-she gave the effect that the Savchenko case could not end in anything but something outside the procedural procedure. Exchange or something like that. Why? Because the problem is not in Americans, the problem is not in Ukrainians, but the problem in the Kremlin leadership, specifically in Putin. Because he perceives Savchenko as a certain valuable deposit that can be traded, a political, of course, a deposit. What is a legal procedure? There are several types of procedures that are certainly procedurally legal. But their implementation is possible only with a certain political will. Let me remind you, at one time there was a noisy story about illegal immigrants, there Chapman was among them. Among these American illegal immigrants - Russian special services of deeply implemented - there were US citizens who were sent there at one time there. Well, Obama simply gave them away, although they were brought to justice.

There are secret decrees for which spies occur

There are secret decrees according to which there are exchanges of spies. There is a mutual pardon procedure to ensure the possibility of sending - some there, and others here. There are some other procedures that, let’s say, are technically solved. In Russia, for sure, because Russia is a country where if something really wants, then it is possible. The law here is a very plastic thing. We know examples when, in violation of the law of people, they liberated if someone wants it. An example of Vasilyeva : after a month of stay in the colony, she was released conventionally, although there is a condition for the Criminal Executive Code that it is necessary to leave for six months in order to submit to parole while in the colony. There is such a condition, such a norm. But nothing, a month later she was calmly released! Have you seen protests on this? Therefore, if they really want, they will do it! Another question is how equivalent to the exchange, how politically it is possible to make such an exchange. This is still a matter of negotiations, it seems to me. Just like that, no one will free Savchenko.

Evgeny Erofeev and Alexander Alexandrov

- Information leaked to the press that Savchenko was going to change both Buta and Yaroshenko. One is serving a deadline for trying to conspire in order to kill American citizens by selling weapons to Colombian rebels, the other for trying to deliver a large batch of cocaine to the United States. How much does such an exchange seem equivalent to you?

- Yes, he is definitely not equivalent! The problem is only in humanitarian interest. If the United States had gone for this, they would be guided by humanitarian principles, and power in Russia, in the Kremlin, would be guided by the cynical principles of political trade. Of course, this is not equivalent. Some come from the salvation of life, while others come from interests. And it was always! Remember how Gaddafi gave the innocent Bulgarian nurses. There, too, you know, was not an equivalent story. But in big politics of this kind, behavior hit the most, by the way, by those who are guided by pragmatic interests, and not humane principles. Therefore, in a sense, if such an exchange took place, it seems to me that Russia would have lost more from this, and America was much smaller if it had given these drug trafficks and a weapon merchant. This is my personal view, somewhat contradictory. On the one hand, indeed, the persons who committed crimes against the innocent Savchenko. And on the other hand, if you are guided by humane principles, as a lawyer, I want an innocent person to not serve 22-year punishment. It is better to save an innocent cost of release of the perpetrator than, on the contrary, to sacrifice the life of an innocent for the so -called celebration of justice! I didn’t say that, Dostoevsky said, ” Mark Feigin recalls.