On Tuesday, November 24th, the Russian Supreme Court rejected Ukranian film director Oleg Sentsov’s appeal against a 20-year sentence for alleged terrorist activities.
Sentsov, who publicly opposed the March 2014 annexation of his native Crimea by The Russian Federation, was sentenced in May 2014 based on the testimonies of two witnesses who each claim to have been tortured by the Russian military police overseeing the trial. Additionally, Sentsov described being tortured while detained, a claim which was not investigated by the court.
Sentsov himself said in court, “I repeat that I consider this case to be political and falsified.” When asked if he understood his initial sentence, he and his alleged co-conspirator Aleksandr Kolchenko stood and sang the Ukranian National Anthem from their cell.
The US, EU, and Ukraine have condemned Russia’s imprisonment of Sentsov. Many human rights organizations including the Voice Project have picked up his case as well.
The European Film Academy (EFA), who is also campaigning for Sentsov’s release, made a last-minute appeal to Russian film director Nikita Mikhalkov to intervene on Sentsov’s behalf. Mikhalkov denied, stating that he would “like to think that everything the defense says about Sentsov is true and can justify his case.” He also expressed his belief in the need to “seek fairness and objectivity” in the investigation.
Mikhalkov, who is head of the Russian Union of Cinematographers and a close friend of Vladimir Putin, won best foreign-language Oscar in 1995 for Burnt by the Sun, a drama set in Stalin’s USSR.
The EFA has vowed to fight on.
Mike Downey, deputy chair of the organization, which represents directors and producers in Europe and hosts annual awards held each December, said, “The European Film Academy regrets very much this decision by the Russian Supreme Court… We will now escalate our campaigning to keep the subject of Oleg Setnsov on the agenda until he is released.”
Sentsov’s lawyer Dmitry Dinze called the result of the rejection “predictable,” adding that the defense will make another appeal. Additionally, Sentsov’s sister Natalya Kaplan will still present a countersuit on his behalf on December 1. The countersuit is to be brought against the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB, the KGB’s successor) and state-controlled mass media for defamation of the artist’s character.
The Voice Project will continue to campaign for Sentsov’s release and update on his case.
Learn more:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/russian-court-oleg-sentsov-sentence-843534