In Russia, prosecutors are requesting that the court hearing regarding the Ukrainian sailors be held behind closed doors; the defense attorneys oppose this

A hearing has begun at the Lefortovo Court in Moscow to consider extending the preventive measure for 24 Ukrainian sailors held as prisoners of war. The prosecution is requesting that the hearing be closed to the public, emphasizing that information will be disclosed during the proceedings that could harm the investigation.

This was reported by a Hromadske correspondent from the scene.

Ilya Novikov, a partner at BARRISTERS Law Firm, objects, arguing that there are no grounds for closing the hearing.

The defense insists that this is an abuse of power by the investigators and that a public trial will not cause any harm, as there is no classified information in the case files.

In addition, the lawyers are requesting that the jurisdiction of the case be changed and that it be transferred to a military court.

A Hromadske journalist spoke with some of the sailors before the court hearing.

As a reminder, on the morning of November 25, 2018, Ukrainian ships and a harbor tug set out as scheduled from the port of Odesa for the port of Mariupol. During this mission, a Russian vessel rammed the Ukrainian tug and damaged it. As they were exiting the Kerch Strait, Russian vessels opened fire on and seized the Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait. In total, there were 24 Ukrainian military personnel on the three vessels, two of whom were SBU officers. Three of them were wounded.

All of the Ukrainians were charged with illegally crossing the Russian Federation’s border in the Black Sea. On November 29, they were transferred to a pretrial detention center in Moscow.

On January 16, the Lefortovo Court in Moscow extended the detention period for all 24 captured Ukrainian sailors until April 24 and April 26, 2019.