The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has urged the Russian Federation to free Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov.
This is stated in the resolution on the protection of the safety of journalists and of media freedom adopted on Jan. 29.
“The Assembly notes with concern that the Ukrainian film producer Oleh Sentsov was transferred from detention in Simferopol to Moscow in May 2014 and has since been under criminal investigations by a Russian court in Moscow. Referring to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262 of 27 March 2014, which declared illegal the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by the Russian Federation, Oleh Sentsov should be transferred by the Russian authorities to the competent law enforcement authorities of Ukraine without further delay,” the resolution reads.
PACE also said that “systematic harassment of free and independent media in annexed Crimea, including the recent raid on the ATR television station, cannot be tolerated in Europe.”
As reported, PACE adopted the resolution calling Russia to release Ukrainian pilot, MP, member of Ukrainian delegation to PACE Nadia Savchenko, who is currently detained in Moscow. However, PACE resolutions aren’t binding.
On May 11, Russian police arrested Sentsov in Crimea. It was reported on May 19 that he had been moved to a pre-trial detention facility in Moscow. On numerous occasions, Sentsov’s representatives said that he had been tortured and threatened during the arrest. In this regard, his defense team appealed to the Investigative Committee of Russian Federation.
On May 30, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the arrest in Crimea of several members of the Right Sector group – Oleh Sentsov, Hennadiy Afanasyev, Oleksiy Chyrniho and Oleksandr Kolchenko on suspicion of plotting acts of sabotage and terror attacks in several cities on the peninsula.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, European Film Academy and U.S. Department of State called for Sentsov’s release.
