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Lawyer: Savchenko's Health 'Worrisome'


Jailed Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko (file photo)
Jailed Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko (file photo)

A lawyer for Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko, who has been on hunger strike in Russian custody for nearly a month, has described the state of his client's health as "worrisome."

Lawyer Nikolai Polozov said in a tweet on January 12 that Savchenko had lost 15 kilograms of weight since she started a hunger strike on December 17.

Polozov also said she feels pains in her stomach and heavy nausea.

Savchenko launched the hunger strike to protest a Donetsk city court's decision in Russia's Rostov region to prolong her detention until April 16.

Russian officials say Savchenko helped relay information to artillery units that fired near a location in eastern Ukraine where two Russian journalists were killed by artillery fire in 2014.

Savchenko denies the accusations, saying she was kidnapped and forcibly brought to Russia in July 2014.

The 34-year-old has spent over a year in custody in Russia, during which time she has already protested her detention by going on an extended hunger strike.

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