Oleg Sentsov

Oleg Gennadyevich Sentsov (born July 13, 1976, Simferopol, Ukrainian SSR) is a Ukrainian film director, screenwriter and writer, social activist. He is a political prisoner in the Russian Federation. General Director of the film company "Krai Kinem".

Winner of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought of the European Parliament and the Shevchenko Prize.

He was an active participant of the Revolution of Dignity and an activist of Automaidan. In the spring of 2014, he often went to Simferopol, where he tried to organize rallies "For a United Country", and also supplied food and everything necessary to the Ukrainian military in Crimea.

On May 10, 2014, Sentsov was detained in Simferopol by Russian security forces.

On June 10, 2014, members of the board of the European Film Academy wrote a letter to Vladimir Putin in support of the detained Ukrainian director.

OnAugust 25, 2015, he was illegally convicted in Russia on terrorism charges and sentenced to 20 years in a high-security penal colony (along with Alexander Kolchenko, another defendant in the case, also a political prisoner of the Kremlin).

From the very beginning of the Sentsov Case, Ukraine's position has been unchanged: Sentsov is a citizen of Ukraine, his detention, trial and imprisonment by the Russian side in a fabricated case are illegal. Oleg must be released and returned to Ukraine.

Hunger strike

On May 14, 2018 Sentsov announced an indefinite hunger strike demanding the release of 64 Ukrainian political prisoners. He announced this in a letter from the colony, which was received by Russian lawyer Dmitry Dinze.

Sentsov and his demands were supported by activists in many countries and the European Film Academy. And on June 14, 2018, the European Parliament supported a resolution for the immediate release of Oleg and other Ukrainian political prisoners.

June 15, 2018 The Polish Sejm passed a resolution demanding the release of Ukrainians imprisoned in Russia for political reasons.

June 25, 2018 Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, officially appealed to the Russian president to pardon the Ukrainian director.

June 27, 2018 The Lithuanian Seimas supported a resolution to expand the national Magnitsky List with those involved in the Sentsov case.

On August 11, the US Embassy in Russia addressed the Russian leadership with a demand to release Sentsov and other Ukrainian political prisoners.

Other representative offices of these countries also made a corresponding demand.

On October 6, Oleg Sentsov was forced to end his hunger strike due to the critical state of his health.

On December 12, 2018, the Russian President announced the legal aspect of the case of illegally convicted Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov.