Oleh Sentsov, the Ukrainian film director who is being accused of preparing a terrorist attack in Crimea, might face 20 years imprisonment in Russia, as his lawyer Dmytro Dinze informed, who also noted that official charges have been brought against Sentsov only on June 11, Deutsche Welle reports.
“It is already possible to consider twenty years of imprisonment under the Russian anti-terrorism law,” Dinze says. Before being granted access to the documents of Sentsov’s case, the attorney had to sign a confidentiality statement.
Dinze has not revealed the details of the charges brought against Sentsov, explaining it with the fact that the investigation is still in progress and the situation remains tense. The Ukrainian film director actively in support of Ukraine’s unity had been arrested by the FSB [Federal Security Service of Russia] officers on May 11 in Crimea. On May 30, the Russian FSB had published a statement on its website saying that Sentsov together with other arrested activists belongs to the Right Sector organization.
He is suspected of planning a terrorist attack which he allegedly wanted to carry out in rimea on the night of May 9 using handmade explosives. At that time, Russian President Vladimir Putin had been in Simferopol on the occasion of Victory Day celebrations.
Kyiv calls the charges against Sentsov called fabricated and absurd, while his arrest and escorting to Moscow are referred to as illegal. The Ukrainian Foreign Service demands to release the director along with several Ukrainians that had been arrested in Crimea by FSB officers.
Translated by Katherina Smirnova, edited by Alya Shandra
