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Putin replies to appeal to free filmmaker jailed for terrorism, pointing to legal criteria

Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov is sentenced to 20 years in prison

MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed to the legal aspect of the case of Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, convicted of terrorism in Russia, when requested to free him at a closed-door meeting of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"He pointed to the legal aspect of the case, and as far as Sentsov is concerned, he has many times voiced his position," he said.

Filmmaker Alexander Sokurov, a Human Rights Council member, requested Putin to free Sentsov. According to Council Chairman Mikhail Fedotov, the president promised to think about what could be done in that regard without waiting for Ukraine to take any positive steps.

Sentsov case

On August 25, 2015, Russia’s North Caucasus District Military Court sentenced Oleg Sentsov to 20 years in prison on charges of establishing a terrorist group in Crimea. In the spring of 2014, the group’s members carried two terrorist attacks in the Crimean city of Simferopol, setting on fire the offices of Crimea’s Russian Community organization and the United Russia party’s Crimean branch. According to the investigation, they also planned to carry out other terrorist attacks.

In December 2016, when Sokurov asked Putin about Sentsov’s future, the Russian president noted that "such issues should be resolved through the judicial system." At the same time, he pointed out that Sentsov had not been convicted for his filmmaking efforts but for "dedicating his life to terrorist activities."

The Russian presidential spokesman said earlier that reports about Kremlin’s refusal to pardon Sentsov were incorrect because no request for pardon had been received from him.