Defense of Russian citizens Yerofeyev, Alexandrov convicted in Ukraine working on all options for their return to Russia - lawyer Rybin
KYIV. May 23 (Interfax) - Valentyn Rybin, lawyer for Russian citizen Alexander Alexandrov convicted in Ukraine, says that his client and the other convicted Russian, Yevgeny Yerofeyev, may be exchanged for Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko or other Ukrainian nationals serving time in Russia. The legal aspect of other options is under consideration, he said.
"There is a high-level agreement that Yerofeyev and Alexandrov will go back to Russia and Savchenko will return to Ukraine. It is a task of lawyers and everyone else engaged in this procedure to do the right thing - to sign relevant papers, petitions, applications to people vested with power to resolve such issues, to gain public support, to be patient and to wait until relevant orders are signed," he told Interfax in his comments on Monday.
As to whether the agreement specifically mentioned the exchange of two Russian citizens for Savchenko, Rybin said, "I cannot say for whom they will be exchanged. I may presume it would be Savchenko because Ukraine is interested in her return. It could also be other people, because there are a number of Ukrainian citizens in Russia whom Ukraine wants to take back. I cannot tell you precisely who they are."
The return of Alexandrov and Yerofeyev to Russia is the task of the defense team, he said. "It is our task to do everything so that they are procedurally prepared for the return to Russia," the lawyer said.
Asked whether the procedure of filing an appeal for the pardon of Alexandrov and Yerofeyev was a process parallel to their exchange, Rybin said, "Indeed, these are parallel processes, which are practically interchangeable. If the pardon does not work, we will start a longer procedure of transfer for the serving of sentences."
In turn, Yerofeyev's lawyer Oksana Sokolovska told Interfax that chances for exchanging the Russians were slim and that the procedure of their pardon by the Ukrainian president was the agenda.
Sokolovska said earlier on Monday that the defense would soon file an appeal with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to pardon Alexandrov and Yerofeyev.
A panel of judges in the Kyiv Holosiivskyi District Court sentenced Yerofeyev and Alexandrov to 14 years on April 18, 2016.
