You're reading: Sentsov award ceremony overshadowed by terror attack in Strasbourg

STRASBOURG, France – A ceremony in the European Parliament to award the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to imprisoned Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov was overshadowed on Dec. 12 by the previous night’s terror attack in Strasbourg.

The award ceremony took place in the plenary Chamber of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, people, exactly 16 hours after a gunman opened fire not far from the Christmas Market in the center of the northeastern French city of 275,000 people. The violence killed three people and wounded 13 – eight of them seriously.

After the attack, the European Parliament building was on lockdown, with Sentsov’s cousin Natalya Kaplan and lawyer Dmitry Dinze trapped inside. Only at around 3 a.m. was everybody free to leave.

Sentov, a political prisoner held Russia for opposing the Kremlin’s illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, was not able to attend the award ceremony in person.

The terror attack unfolded at around 8 p.m. on Dec. 12 near Place Kléber, one of the top tourist attractions at this time of year. The first reports about the shooting were picked up by media from some MEPs’ Twitter accounts.

British MEP Richard Corbett (the group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats) tweeted that he was in a restaurant in the city and that the doors had been locked.

“I am in a restaurant in center of Strasbourg where shots fired with unconfirmed reports of 3 dead. Restaurant locked and not letting anyone in or out,” Corbett tweeted.

Dutch MEP Peter van Dalen, the vice-chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, at that time was hiding in the hotel nearby, reporting almost every hour about the shooting. Another British MEP, Derek Vaughan from the group of Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, also tweeted about the attack: “In restaurant in Strasbourg. Sitting in dark as city in lock down as shots are fired.”

The next day, President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani decided to hold a moment of silence for the victims of the terror attack after the award ceremony for Sentsov.

The award ceremony started with the screening of a film about Sentsov, which garnered warm applause from MEPs, and then Sentsov’s cousin Kaplan read a story about him. Beside her, an empty chair represented the absent Sentsov.

Many of the MEPs had signs reading “Free Oleg Sentsov” on their desks in front of them. After giving a speech, Tajani handed Kaplan the Sakharov Prize, written in Ukrainian. Then Tajani called for a minute of silence for the victims of the previous day’s terror attack.

During a press conference after the award ceremony, Kaplan said Sentsov “believes that he does not deserve such an award.”

“But I don’t agree with him,” she went on. “This is not only an award, but a message to Russia. I do hope that thanks to international political figures we will be unified and create the necessary conditions so that Russian starts releasing political prisoners,” she said.

Dinze said Sentsov hopes that the award will provide “leverage that will make it possible to free the Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia.”

“He always said that his actions are not aimed at achieving his own goals – he wants to ensure that all Ukrainian political prisoners are released.”

Tajani also said the presenting of the award to Sentsov was a message to Russia.

“Once again we call for the release of this man,” Tajani said.

“Let’s see what reaction there is from the Russian authorities. We always defend Sakharov Prize laureates, and we will continue to work for his release.”

This is the first time in the 30-year history of the Sakharov Prize that it has gone to a citizen of Ukraine.

Sentsov has become a symbol of resistance in Ukraine to Kremlin aggression. He was arrested in 2014 in illegally occupied Crimea and sentenced to 20 years in jail on sham terrorism charges.

He declared a hunger strike on May 14, demanding the release of all Ukrainian prisoners illegally detained by Russia. By the time he ended it on Oct. 5 the 42-year-old film director had lost around 20 kilograms and developed problems with his kidneys and heart, his lawyer said.