UKRAINE-CRISIS/RUSSIA-COURT Detained Ukrainian film director appears in Russian court on terrorism charges

Record ID: 146152

  • Title: UKRAINE-CRISIS/RUSSIA-COURT Detained Ukrainian film director appears in Russian court on terrorism charges
  • Date: 27th July 2015
  • Summary: ROSTOV-ON-DON, RUSSIA (JULY 27, 2015) (REUTERS) POLICE CARS AND TRUCKS DRIVING PAST IN COURT GROUNDS UKRAINIAN FILM DIRECTOR AND ACTIVIST, OLEG SENTSOV, AND ACTIVIST, ALEXANDER KOLCHENKO, SITTING BEHIND SCREEN, DEFENCE IN FRONT SENTSOV KOLCHENKO TALKING TO HIS LAWYER, SVETLANA SIDORKINA SENTSOV SENTSOV'S LAWYER, DMITRY DINZE, AND SIDORKINA SEATED IN FOREGROUND, DEFENDANTS
  • Embargoed: 11th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA3QYO9GN9FAGC756HK414XUQ1B
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A Russian court began on Monday (July 27) hearing witness statements in the trial of Ukrainian activist and film director Oleg Sentsov and activist Alexander Kolchenko who are accused of planning a terrorist attack in the annexed Crimean peninsula.
    Sentsov was arrested in Crimea last May after attending a pro-Ukrainian rally, just weeks after Russia annexed the peninsula from Ukraine. Russia's Federal Security Service, a successor to the Soviet-era KGB, detained the film director who has been kept in detention in Russia since.
    Sentsov pleaded not guilty at the beginning of the North Caucasus military court hearing on Tuesday (July 21). He faces at least 20 years of jail time, if found guilty.
    Russian prosecutors accuse Sentsov of creation of a terrorist organisation, planning to carry out terrorist attacks in Crimea, illegal possession and attempt to traffic arms. Prosecutors maintain the film director turned activist was involved in attempted arson attacks in Simferopol, working in collaboration with the right-wing group Right Sector, which is outlawed in Russia.
    Ukrainian activist Alexander Kolchenko shared the defendant's bench with the film director. The anti-fascist activist is accused of assisting Sentsov and an arson attack against the local office of the ruling United Russia party.
    Two other suspects in the case, Aleksey Chirniy and Gennady Afanasyev, have already received seven-year prison sentences, after pleading guilty to charges of terrorism brought against them in April and December of last year.
    Russian prosecutors are calling for the two to give witness statements in the trial against Sentsov and Kolchenko.
    "A request was put forward by state prosecutors for interrogation in court of those previously convicted in this criminal case, Chirniy and Afanasyev. They should be transferred to the North Caucasus Regional Military Court by July 30, 2015," the court's press-secretary Alyona Katkalo said on Monday.
    Sentsov's supporters say he is being held as a political prisoner for his pro-Ukrainian stance.
    The film director's lawyer Dmitry Dinze said criminal cases connected with the Ukrainian far-right organisation have become widespread in Russia.
    "You should understand that the Right Sector is a current trend in Russia. And they are trying to put the Right Sector labels on people in every region. This happens in Nizhny Novgorod, this happens in Kaliningrad region, so this is not a secret for me," Dinze said, adding that legal procedures may take three or four weeks.
    Earlier Sentsov's lawyer told Reuters TV his client did no apply for Russian citizenship after the annexation, but is being treated like a Russian citizen and is being denied access to Ukrainian representatives.
    According to local media Sentsov was issued with a Russian passport while in custody.
    Sentsov, who has claimed he was tortured while in detention, denies all accusations against him and says the case is politically motivated.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register