The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) is appalled by the cynical verdicts rendered by Russian authorities on 25 August 2015 against acclaimed Ukrainian film-maker Oleh Sentsov and activist Oleksandr Kolchenko, and urges the international community to demand their immediate release. Both men have been languishing in Russian prison since May 2014 on politically motivated charges. Oleh Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor, while Oleksandr Kolchenko was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor.
The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Anne Brasseur stated that the sentencing of Oleh Sentsov and Oleksandr Kolchenko “raises concerns about respect for the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights in the legal proceedings against them, especially in the context of the deterioration of the human rights situation in Crimea since its illegal annexation by the Russian Federation.”
“The Ukrainian World Congress urges the international community to demand that Russian authorities immediately release all illegally detained prisoners in accordance with the Minsk agreements,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
More information on the trials of the political prisoners, including instruction on submitting letters of support can be found on the web site of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group.
Photo: khpg.org
