ROSTOV-ON-DON - The defense team of Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov is planning to appeal to the Supreme Court against the verdict issued by the North Caucasus District Military Court, lawyer Dmitry Dinze told reporters on Aug. 25.
“This is an expected verdict. Oleh was saying it will be exactly this term. He, and his lawyers too, had been informed about these figures. We intend to appeal against the verdict at the Supreme Court but we don’t think there will be any changes there. Perhaps, two years maximum will be knocked off,” Dinze said.
The lawyers aim to ensure that Sentsov and the second case defendant, Oleksandr Kolchenko, are sent to Ukraine to serve their sentences, he said.
Sentsov and Kolchenko have already been declared political prisoners by public organizations, Dinze said. Some evidence shown in court was fabricated, he said.
“We provided evidence to the court, which shows that Oleh is innocent. He himself always said that during the preliminary investigation he had items put into his hands all the time, so his fingerprints on the weapon are not proof of his guilt. Furthermore, many people were tortured during the process, many were subjected to psychological pressure,” Dinze said.
The North Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don on Aug. 25 convicted Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov of plotting terrorist attacks in Crimea and sentenced him to 20 years in a high-security prison. The second defendant, Oleksandr Kolchenko, was sentenced to ten years in a high-security penitentiary.
