Two Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russia transferred from Rostov Detention Center
Ukrainian film director, Oleg Sentsov, and anti-fascist Ukrainian activist, Olexandr Kolchenko, were transferred from the Rostov Detention Center on the 4th of February. According to available information, Sentsov is in Samara now awaiting transfer to the Irkutsk region, where he will serve his sentence. Kolchenko is in Voronezh awaiting transfer to the Chelyabinsk region.
Kolchenko’s lawyer, Svetlana Sidorkina, reported that she expects confirmation of the transfer from the Federal Service of Punishment Fulfilment (FSPF) as well as information regarding to which facility the detainees were sent. Oleg Sentsov and Olexander Kolchenko were sentenced to 20 and 10 years of imprisonment respectively by the North Caucasus Military District Court.
They were charged with plotting terrorist attacks including a plan to blow up the Lenin monument in Simferopol and to set fires to the offices of the Russian Community of Crimea and United Russia. Both Ukrainians are recognized as political prisoners by the Memorial Human Rights Center.
Gennady Afanasiev was also accused of these crimes and was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment in the correctional facility in Syktyvkar. He is appealing his transfer. The appeal will be heard on the 12th of February by the Syktyvkar Municipal Court.