Russia's Supreme Court on Wednesday postponed for the second time a hearing on whether to designate Ukraine's Azov Regiment, which defied besieging Russian forces for weeks in Mariupol, as a terrorist entity.
A court official said the hearing, first set for May 26, had now been rescheduled for Aug. 2. No reason was given.
The unit was formed in 2014 as an extreme right-wing volunteer militia to fight Russian-backed separatists, but was subsequently folded into the Ukrainian National Guard. Ukraine says it has been reformed away from its radical nationalist origins and is now apolitical. Relatives of the Ukrainian fighters have appealed for their rights to be protected under the 1949 Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war, and Ukraine says it expects them to be exchanged for Russian prisoners-of-war.
Organising terrorist activity is punishable with life imprisonment in Russia. Participating in a terrorist organisation carries a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years.
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