Russian intellectuals call for pardon of Oleh Sentsov
Following a group of members of the Russian International PEN Center, the Russian No-War Congress of the Intelligentsia appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to pardon the Ukrainian film director, Oleh Sentsov, who is currently imprisoned in Russia. An open letter from this organization was posted yesterday on the website nowarcongress.com.
The appeal of the No-War Congress of the Intelligentsia was signed, among others, by Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Svetlana Alexievich, Grigory Pasko, Victor Shenderovich, Liya Akhedzhakova, Zoe Svetova and others.
"Taking note of the desire for public peace and mutual tolerance declared by you at a press conference, we call on you to show clemency and to pardon Oleh Sentsov, a filmmaker, who is serving his 20-year term in the extremely harsh conditions in a northern camp for a dubious and wrongful imputation of terrorism. Such an act of mercy, a gesture of respect on your part to the opinion of many artists within the country and abroad, who have already addressed you with such appeals, could also show your real commitment to social cohesion and become a harbinger of a new stage of social life in the country,” the group’s appeal read.
About 300 people have signed this petition so far, with number of signers gradually increasing.
On Saturday, December 24th, it became known that members of the Russian PEN Club also asked the Russian president to pardon Oleh Sentsov. 61 club members signed the petition, as well as of nine literary people and 13 members of the Free Historical Society, writers and public figures, according to the "Private opinion Russian PEN Club" Facebook page.
The press-service of the Russian PEN Club stated on December 24th, that the organization itself as a whole did not come out in support of Sentsov, and that this initiative belongs only to its individual members.
Oleh Sentsov was arrested by Russian security services in the Crimea in May 2014 on the charges of organizing terrorist attacks on the peninsula.
In August 2015, the North Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Oleh Sentsov to 20 years in a penal colony on the charges of organizing terrorist activities within the territory of the Crimea.
Sentsov plead not guilty and the Human Rights Center "Memorial" has put his name on the list of political prisoners.