MOSCOW, July 13. /TASS/. Kremlin will consider a request by the mother of jailed Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov to pardon him when it is received by the president’s executive office, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"Of course, it will be considered, but I cannot say when exactly this will happen," he noted. When asked whether an individual can be pardoned at the request of his or her relatives, the Kremlin spokesman said, "This is a legal issue. I cannot answer this question. This is outside my purview."
Peskov noted that such cases [pardon at the mother’s request] are not enshrined in law. It specifies what should happen to make sure the pardon process is initiated, he added.
According to Peskov, the Kremlin learned about Lyudmila Sentsova’s request addressed to Russian leader Vladimir Putin from media reports and cannot consider that to be a formal application.
In late August 2015, Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, best known for his 2011 film Gamer, was found guilty of terrorism in Russia. The North Caucasus District Military Court sentenced him to 20 years behind bars on charges of setting up a terrorist cell in Crimea and plotting terror attacks. In the spring of 2014, the group’s members carried out two terror attacks in Simferopol setting on fire the offices of Crimea’s Russian Community non-governmental organization and a regional office of the United Russia party.