The European Film Academy today released a statement, titled “Don’t Let Oleg Die!’ in support of of Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov who has been on a hunger strike for twelve days. Oleg Sentsov, best known for his 2011 film Gamer, is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Russia on charges of plotting terrorism acts.
On its website, EFA states, that the Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, who was involved in supporting the Euro Maidan protests in Kiev and who has opposed the annexation of Crimea by Russia, was arrested by the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) in his house in Simferopol on 10 May 2014 and brought to Moscow. On 25 August 2015, he was sentenced to 20 years in jail, a sentence that was confirmed iIn late November 2015 by the Russian Supreme Court in Moscow.
Don’t Let Oleg Die!
Today is Day 12 of Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov’s indefinite hunger strike which his lawyer Dimitri Dinze reports he full plans to follow through to the death should his demands not be met.
Oleg Sentsov, who was involved in supporting the Euro Maidan protests in Kiev and who opposed the annexation of Crimea by Russia, was arrested by the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) in his house in Simferopol on 10 May 2014 and brought to Moscow where he was detained and awaiting trial for over a year.
Although the key witness had retracted his testimony as given “under duress”, the trial, based on the accusation of Oleg Sentsov having committed “crimes of a terrorist nature”, was continued. Although thousands of signatures supporting an EFA letter to the President of Russia and Russian authorities were gathered across Europe, asking for Sentsov’s immediate release, Oleg Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
At the end of what Amnesty International described as “an unfair trial in a military court”, in late November 2015 the Russian Supreme Court in Moscow confirmed this sentence and Oleg Sentsov was moved to Yakutia.
We are deeply worried so once again we ask that his safety is ensured and that he be released immediately and unconditionally!
Please help us to help him, contact your foreign minister, your MP and MEP, and the Russian embassy in your country and ask them to do all they can for the release of Oleg Sentsov! We need to act now! (You can use the template below)
With the support of
Masha Alyokhina, activist (Pussy Riot), Russia
Stephen Daldry, director, UK
Mike Downey, producer, UK
Dariusz Jablonski, producer, Poland
Aki Kaurismäki, director, Finland
Mike Leigh, director, UK
Ken Loach, director, UK
Wojciech Marczewski, director, Poland
Daniel Olbrychski, actor, Poland
Volker Schlöndorff, director, Germany
Béla Tarr, director, Hungary
Bertrand Tavernier, director, France
Krzysztof Zanussi, director, Poland
And 1,750 other members and friends of the European Film Academy as well as institutions including
ANAC Associazione Nazionale Autori Cinematografici / National Association of Cinematographic Authors (Italy)
APA Audiovisual Producers Association (Czech Republic)
Directors UK
FERA I Federation of European Film Directors
PEN America
The Austrian Film Academy
The Czech Film Academy
The European Producers Club
The French Directors’ Guild (SRF)
The German Film Academy
The Polish Film Academy
The Presidium of the Slovak Film and Television Academy (SFTA)
The Russian Filmmakers Union Kinosoyuz
The Ukrainian Film Academy
The Union of Filmmakers of Ukraine
Deeply worried,
Agnieszka Holland & Wim Wenders
PLEASE WRITE TO YOUR FOREIGN MINISTER, YOUR MP AND MEP, AND THE RUSSIAN EMBASSY IN YOUR COUNTRY AND CALL ON THEM TO SECURE OLEG’S SAFETY AND RELEASE. YOU MAY WISH TO USE BELOW TEXT. THANK YOU!!!
Dear______________________,
Don’t Let Oleg Die!
Today Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov is on day 12 of an indefinite hunger strike which his lawyer Dimitri Dinze reports he full plans to follow through to the death should his demands not be met.
Oleg Sentsov, who was involved in supporting the Euro Maidan protests in Kiev and who opposed the annexation of Crimea by Russia, was arrested by the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) in his house in Simferopol on 10 May 2014 and brought to Moscow where he was detained and awaiting trial for over a year.
Although the key witness had retracted his testimony as given “under duress”, the trial, based on the accusation of Oleg Sentsov having committed “crimes of a terrorist nature”, was continued and at the end of what Amnesty International described as “an unfair trial in a military court”, Oleg Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years in prison. In late November 2015 the Russian Supreme Court in Moscow confirmed this sentence and Oleg Sentsov was moved to Yakutia, where he has now started his hunger strike.
I am deeply worried so I call on you to make sure that his safety is ensured and that he be released immediately and unconditionally!
My name:
My address: