Lawyer says the exchange of Sentsov and Kolchenko will only be possible after Ukraine sentences 2 Russian soldiers
Lawyer Svetlana Sidorkina said that the exchange of her clients who were detained in Russia, Crimean activist Alexander Kolchenko and Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, is only possible when two members of the Russian Special Forces, who were arrested in Ukraine, are sentenced.
"As long as a final decision isn't made, I believe that the question of the exchange will not be considered. Although, I still hope that the issue of the exchange will be the subject of negotiations by the two countries, and it will be finally resolved," Sidorkina said.
According to her, she and her colleagues that defend Sentsov, already submitted to the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice all the necessary documents for Crimeans to serve their sentence in Ukraine.
"We didn't appeal to the Russian Ministry of Justice. We have submitted documents to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, assuming that they will be more objective in this situation and will approach this issue diplomatically," Sidorkina said.
Three months ago, the Russian Supreme Court upheld the verdict for the Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov and activist Alexander Kolchenko. After the court hearing, their lawyers said that they are starting a legal procedure that involves escorting their clients to Ukraine.
Sentsov and Kolchenko were sentenced by the North Caucasus Military District Court to 20 and 10 years in prison on August 25, 2015. They were charged with preparation for destroying the Lenin monument in Simferopol and with the arson of the offices of the "Russian Community of Crimea" and "United Russia". Both Ukrainians were recognized as political prisoners by the human rights movement "Memorial".
In May 2015, in Luhansk region on territory controlled by the Ukrainian government, two Russian Special Forces soldiers from the Main Intelligence Directorate, Alexander Alexandrov and Yevgeni Yerofeyev, were detained. They admitted, at first, that they were Russian soldiers from one of the units of the Main Intelligence Directorate but later retracted this testimony. Legal proceedings are ongoing.