The International Pen Center defended Oleg Sentsov. "I don't ask for mercy." Starving Sentsov wrote a letter to human rights activists

Film directors from Western countries and the Minister of Culture of France appealed to the international community, the UN and the European Union with a request to help release Ukrainian political prisoner director Oleg Sentsov. The corresponding statement was published in the French newspaper Le Monde.

The appeal was signed by French Minister of Culture Francoise Nissen, film directors Jean-Luc Godard and Ken Loach, as well as the union of directors of France and Belgium. They turned to the UN and the EU to demand that Russian President Vladimir Putin release Sentsov.

"Art knows no boundaries, because art is universal, the same should be the rights of those who create it. Freedom of expression and freedom of creativity cannot end where dissent begins. But today the director dies because he is a dissident," the director said. in circulation.

“Oleg Sentsov has been in Russia for more than four years. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Russian court after a trial that clearly does not respect the rights of the defense, is a violation of international law and basic norms of justice. Is his only real “mistake” to show his freedom of expression? Wasn't his only "crime" able to express his political allegiance through his art?" - write cultural figures.

Recall, on August 10, French President Emmanuel Macron during a telephone conversation discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin the situation around the imprisonment and hunger strike of Oleg Sentsov.

Earlier, a petition for the release of Sentsov was posted on the White House website. Until September 8, the petition must be signed by 100,000 people for the White House to make an official statement on this matter.

Political analysts Bogdan Bezpalko and Denis Denisov criticized a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin asking him to pardon Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, who was sentenced to 20 years in a strict regime colony on charges of creating a terrorist community, committing two terrorist attacks and preparing another.

“I am convinced that those people who signed this appeal are well aware of the danger Mr. Sentsov could represent for the inhabitants of Crimea and for the citizens of Russia in general. Mr. Sentsov was convicted not for his creative tricks, not for films that, in fact, no one knows, but for the fact that he tried to commit a terrorist act. Vladimir Putin put an end to this issue at his press conference. Therefore, the desire of these people to release Sentsov is a clear desire to free the enemy of Russia. These people and they themselves do not like Russia very much. They dream of conquering Russia, just as Smerdyakov once dreamed of in Dostoevsky's novel. This is a collective signing of a letter by the "smerdyakovs" so that another terrorist, another anti-Russian figure ... could avoid inevitable punishment. Very often, it is the inevitability of punishment that makes it impossible to commit new acts. So I have a very negative attitude towards these signatories and Mr. Sentsov himself, "- Bogdan Bezpalko, a member of the Council for Interethnic Relations under the President of Russia, noted.

In turn, Denis Denisov, Deputy Head of the Ukraine Department of the Institute of CIS Countries, noted that such a situation has been happening quite often lately.

“First of all, it should be said that such a situation happens quite often, especially recently, when people from the so-called representatives of the creative intelligentsia are simply used for political purposes. it is very easy to direct them in the right direction for political technologists and politicians, he noted. - Based on the specific issue related to the appeal of the representatives of the PEN Center - here, of course, the so-called Russian opposition is quite clearly and clearly manifested. After all, many of the signatories have repeatedly shown, as it seems to them, their state position, state debt, but in fact betrayed the interests of their country and opposed their state and against their people.

In his opinion, this is the best confirmation that people of culture and science should mind their own business, and politics should be left to politicians, Denis Denisov believes.

However, the PEN Center itself disowned the letter.

Recall that in August 2015, the North Caucasian District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Sentsov, who was detained in Crimea in 2014, to 20 years in a strict regime colony on charges of creating a terrorist community on the peninsula, committing two terrorist attacks and preparing another one. .

December 25th, 2016 09:00 am

Material No. 1. More than 80 members of the Russian PEN Center, writers and scientists signed an appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin asking for pardon for Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, who is serving a 20-year sentence in a Russian colony.

Fragment: President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin

"In these pre-Christmas days, when many people, regardless of personal views and religious affiliation, strive, following a long tradition, to show humanity and mercy, we, members of the Russian PEN Center, want to say about the need to correct the deepest injustice as soon as possible - 20- summer sentence to our colleague, prose writer and director Oleg Sentsov.

On December 2, 2016, at a joint meeting of the two Councils for Culture and the Russian Language, director Alexander Sokurov asked and even begged you to pardon Oleg Sentsov, who was arrested by the FSB on May 10, 2014. Supporting Alexander Sokurov in this, we, members of the Russian PEN Center, ask you to extend the pardon procedure to Oleg Sentsov.

Oleg Sentsov has been in prison for two and a half years. Despite the fact that the accusation of criminal intent ... was based on the testimony of one of the defendants, completely refuted by himself during the trial - as given under torture. Torture was also used against Oleg, which was confirmed by his lawyers, but he never admitted his guilt ... "

Full list of signatories and fuller text Here

Material number 2.

The Russian PEN Center denied the letter in defense of Sentsov

The World Writers Organization (Russian PEN Center) did not write a letter to the President of the Russian Federation with a request to pardon the Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, the organization's press service told Interfax on Saturday.

“We didn’t write anything to Vladimir Vladimirovich. The executive committee and the president of the PEN Center are not involved in this. This is not our initiative. We have a group of “liberal” oppositionists who are trying to conflict with us and lead their own line. They are members of the Center, but their own statements, collect signatures among like-minded people "- explained in the press service.

The center emphasized that such a collection of signatures "does not happen for the first time."

In August 2015, the North Caucasian District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don (RF) sentenced Sentsov, who was detained in Crimea in 2014, to 20 years in a strict regime colony on charges of creating a terrorist community on the peninsula, committing two terrorist attacks and preparing another one.

Source

Material No. 3

Ukrainian director Sentsov wrote 5 scripts and a story in a Russian colony

Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, who is imprisoned in Russia, is actively engaged in creative work and is awaiting an exchange in order to return to Ukraine, according to his lawyer Dmitry Dinze, who visited his client in the colony.

"Oleg says hello to everyone, he has already written 5 scripts and one story, all in the creative process ... In general, the situation in the colony is normal, the boss is adequate. He is sitting in the colony without any problems. really little", - Dinze wrote on his page on the social network Facebook

Good day to all. Oleg Sentsov visited PKU IK-1 UFSIN of Russia in Sakha (Yakutia). Basically, he's fine. Weather for 5 months from -20 to -50. Now -35 and it is considered warm. A week ago it was -47, that's when the waitress in the cafe told me coldly. The zone is located within the city, you can get there by taxi or minibus. Oleg says hello to everyone, he has already written 5 scripts and one story, all in the creative process. He said that the stage to Yakutia was long, ...

Source

“I don’t know Sentsov personally, but I signed the letter because when history comes to such a dramatic edge as with him, one must proceed from general human principles,” Norshtein noted.

According to him, Sentsov became a "victim" in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. “I am neither a lawyer nor a judge. I can’t be sure of anything: neither in the punitive organs, nor in the fact that he is clean and immaculate. But we are talking about a person's life," the director added.

A letter in support of Sentsov is not a political statement, Ekaterina Mtsituridze, head of Roskino, emphasized in an interview with RBC.

“The purpose of any art is to support humanitarian values. If a person dies, you need to try to save his life. Let this letter be perceived not as a political, but as a humanitarian statement aimed at saving lives. All Russian culture, literature and great examples of our cinema are about a person and the importance of human life. We cannot stand aside when a person dies,” Mtsituridze said.

In addition to the publication in the media, a letter in support of Sentsov was sent to the president, the initiator of the appeal, program director of the Message to Man film festival, Alexei Medvedev, told RBC.

“I tried to send the letter through various channels, including through friends to people in the government. I know that the letter was received by several people in the rank of ministers and heads of the presidential administration. We hope that the president will receive this letter, we hope that they will hear us and respond,” Medvedev said.

Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that the convict himself should initiate this procedure, and public outcry cannot change the court decision that has entered into force.

Lawyer Dmitry Dinze told RBC that he would ask on June 21 at a meeting with Oleg Sentsov whether he would ask for pardon. “Of course I will ask,” Dinze said to the corresponding question from RBC.

According to him, cultural figures themselves initiated an appeal to Putin. “I’ll only find out on June 21,” Dinze said, when asked what the convicted Ukrainian filmmaker thought about Peskov’s latest comment on the situation.

For the second month now, Sentsov has continued what he announced, demanding the release of more than 60 Ukrainian prisoners from Russian colonies.

In August 2015, the Ukrainian film director was sentenced in Russia to 20 years in a strict regime colony, he was accused of organizing terrorist attacks in Crimea. The investigation claimed that Sentsov organized the burning of windows in the building of the United Russia branch in Simferopol and the doors in the office of the Russian Community of Crimea. Also, according to investigators, the director intended to blow up the monuments.

Film directors from Western countries and the Minister of Culture of France appealed to the international community, the UN and the European Union with a request to help release Ukrainian political prisoner director Oleg Sentsov. The corresponding statement was published in the French newspaper Le Monde.

The appeal was signed by French Minister of Culture Francoise Nissen, film directors Jean-Luc Godard and Ken Loach, as well as the union of directors of France and Belgium. They turned to the UN and the EU to demand that Russian President Vladimir Putin release Sentsov.

“Art knows no boundaries, because art is universal, so should the rights of those who create it. Freedom of expression and freedom of creativity cannot end where dissent begins. But today the director is dying because he is a dissident,” the appeal says.

“Oleg Sentsov has been in Russia for more than four years. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Russian court after a trial that clearly did not respect the rights of the defense, a violation of international law and basic norms of justice. Is his only real "mistake" showing his freedom of expression? Wasn't his only "crime" able to express his political allegiance through his art?" cultural figures write.

Recall, on August 10, French President Emmanuel Macron during a telephone conversation discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin the situation around the imprisonment and hunger strike of Oleg Sentsov.

Earlier, a petition for the release of Sentsov was posted on the White House website. Until September 8, the petition must be signed by 100,000 people for the White House to make an official statement on this matter.

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