Helsinki appeal court to rule on Torden war crimes charges

The Helsinki Court of Appeal is due to deliver its verdict in the war crimes case against Russian national Voislav Torden, Yle reports.

The charges concern an alleged ambush in Ukraine’s Luhansk region in September 2014 and events that followed, in which 22 Ukrainian soldiers were killed.

A district court previously sentenced Torden to life imprisonment for four war crimes. The court found that he belonged to the Rusitsh fighter group, which took part in an armed attack on Ukrainian soldiers.

Prosecutors are again seeking a life sentence in the appeal proceedings. Torden denies all the charges.