Russians Baranov, Odintsov, Mefedov to Be Included in Prisoner Swap List With Kiev- Lawyer

KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd August, 2019) Russians Alexander Baranov, Maxim Odintsov and Evgeny Mefedov will be included in the list of Russian citizens held in Ukrainian jails who will be exchanged for Ukrainians held in Russia as part of the possible prisoner swap deal, lawyer Valentin Rybin told Sputnik on Thursday, adding that the date of the swap remained uncertain.

"My defendants Alexander Baranov and Maxim Odintsov are getting ready to take part in the upcoming swap. The date of the exchange is uncertain yet, but I hope it will take place very soon," Rybin said, adding that Mefedov would also be included in the list.

"A hearing should be held today at the central district court of the city of Nikolaev, during which the measure of restriction for him [Mefedov] will be changed for [release on] personal recognizance, and then he will be able to leave for the gathering point.

He is currently in Odessa," Rybin said.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained servicemen Baranov and Odintsov on November 20, 2016, in Kherson region at the border with Crimea. In February 2018, Kiev's district courts sentenced Baranov and Odintsov to 14 and 13 years in prison respectively over alleged state treason and malicious desertion. Russian President Vladimir Putin has slammed Kiev's steps as "treachery", since the Russian nationals were enticed to the Dzhankoy checkpoint fraudulently, with the SBU claiming it was going to give them documents they needed.

Mefedov, suspected of being involved in mass unrest that swept Odessa in May 2014, left a detention facility in Nikolaev on Monday, as a district court ruled to release him on bail.