Nearly 300 Ukrainians Imprisoned in Russia Request Extradition

Nearly 300 Ukrainian convicts have requested extradition to their homeland, according to the Russian Justice Ministry.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Justice Ministry said on Friday it is reviewing 288 requests from Ukrainian inmates serving their sentences in Russian prisons to be extradited back to their home countries.

“The Russian Justice Ministry in association with the appropriate Russian bodies, and of course with the Ukrainian Justice Ministry, are currently reviewing 288 requests from Ukrainian citizens on their transfer to Ukraine <…>, as well as nine requests from Russian citizens on their extradition from Ukraine to Russia,” the Justice Ministry responded in a letter from RIA Novosti.

Earlier in April, Ukrainian national Nadezhda Savchenko, sentenced to 22 years of imprisonment in Russia, has begun filling out documents for her extradition to Ukraine as well.

Savchenko was sentenced in late March to a 22-year jail term in Russia for her part in killing Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine. She subsequently refused to appeal the ruling. The Ukrainian authorities, however, have been trying to find ways for her possible return to her homeland, including through an exchange for Russian nationals held in Ukraine.