KYIV. Dec 10 (Interfax) - Every Ukrainian detained in the Kerch Strait and brought to Moscow detention centers now has his own defense attorney, Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Liudmyla Denisova said.
"The payment for defense services provided by lawyers will be made under contracts which a person duly authorized by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry will conclude in Moscow. All expenses will be covered by the Ukrainian state. They will include attorney fees and additional expenses needed by the defenders of the Ukrainian sailors. Each contract will have a period of validity that covers the entire pretrial investigation period," Denisova wrote on Facebook on Monday.
"Every imprisoned Ukrainian sailor will be guaranteed a full-fledged legal representation" from the day that investigative actions begin on December 11, she wrote.
The Russian border guard used weapons to stop three Ukrainian naval vessels, the Yany Kapu tug and the Berdyansk and the Nikopol armored gunboats, near the Kerch Strait on November 25. Three sailors were wounded. Courts in Crimea sanctioned the arrest of all 24 crewmembers of these vessels until January 25, 2019. The sailors have been transferred to Moscow; most of them are currently being held at the Lefortovo detention center, while the wounded are in the infirmary of the Matrosskaya Tishina detention center.
The Ukrainians are charged with the illegal crossing of Russia's border by a group by previous concert with the use of arms.
Kyiv calls the detained sailors POWs. The FSB says they cannot be regarded as POWs, as they are charged with a crime and Russia and Ukraine are not in a state of war or military conflict.