Kyiv will continue to negotiate the return of Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov and his compatriot Oleksandr Kolchenko, who have been convicted in Russia to long prison terms, through their exchange for Russians detained in Ukraine, a source familiar with the situation told Interfax on Oct. 22.
“Ukraine will continue to seek the extradition of Sentsov and Kolchenko through diplomatic channels using the procedure of the exchange of citizens. In this case the citizenship of these people won’t matter,” the source told the agency.
He noted that the refusal of the Russian Ministry of Justice to hand over Sentsov and Kolchenko to Ukraine in compliance with the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons of 1983 “was to be expected”.
According to the source, it is possible that Sentsov and Kolchenko will be pardoned by the head of state, as was the case with Hennadiy Afanasyev and Yuriy Soloshenko, as well as MP Nadia Savchenko.
He recalled that before returning to Ukraine, Savchenko was pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Russian citizens Yevgeniy Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov, for whom she was exchanged, were pardoned by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
On October 21, Deputy Justice Minister of Ukraine for European Integration Serhiy Petukhov said Russia refused to hand over Sentsov and Kolchenko to Ukraine.
He also posted a copy of the response of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation to the Ukrainian Justice Ministry to a request for Kolchenko’s handover for further serving his prison sentence.
“Kolchenko acquired Russian citizenship in accordance with Part 1 of Article 4 of the Federal Constitutional Law dated 21.03.2014 ‘On the Admission of the Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation and the Formation of New Entities – the Republic of Crimea and the Federal City of Sevastopol in the Russian Federation,” the document says.
It was reported earlier that in August 2015, Russia’s North Caucasus District Military Court found Sentsov and Kolchenko guilty of establishing a terrorist group in Crimea, committing two terrorist attacks and plotting another one, and an attempt to acquire explosive devices. The two were also convicted of illegal storage of weapons. Sentsov was given 20 years in prison and Kolchenko 10 years.
Early this May, Sentsov and Kolchenko filled out forms for their extradition to Ukraine.
On June 1 the Russian Supreme Court refused to consider the appeal against the verdict of Sentsov and Kolchenko.
Kyiv has repeatedly said that the Sentsov-Kolchenko case is politically motivated.
