![]() However, as Halya Coynash writes, President Putin’s ‘assertion that Russia is a law-based country comes just two weeks after the International Criminal Court accepted jurisdiction over Russia’s ongoing occupation of Crimea and spoke of Russia’s “non-respect of a number of due process and fair trial rights”.’ In Coynash’s view, ‘Neither Putin’s assertions about Sentsov, nor his claim that it is the court in Russia which decides have any credibility, and the demands for Sentsov’s release have come not only from world-renowned film directors, but from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the EU, OSCE and all democratic countries.’ Amnesty International called the prison sentences handed down by a Russian military court against Oleg Sentsov and Aleksandr Kolchenko in August 2015 ‘a blatant injustice’, describing the trial as ‘patently unfair’ trial marred by credible allegations of torture, and ‘marred by credible allegations of torture‘. Heather McGill, Eurasia Researcher at Amnesty International, said: “This whole trial was designed to send a message. It played into Russia’s propaganda war against Ukraine and was redolent of Stalinist-era show trials of dissidents.’ Amnesty International called for any testimony gained through torture and other ill-treatment to be thrown out, the ‘terrorism’ charges withdrawn, and Oleg Sentsov and Aleksandr Kolchenko either released or brought to face a fair trial in a civilian court. Photo: Human Rights in Ukraine Sources: 'Putin Rejects Plea to Free Jailed Ukrainian Filmmaker,' The Moscow Times, 2 December 2016 'Путин ответил на просьбу освободить режиссера Сенцова,' RBK, 2 December 2016 Halya Coynash, ‘Putin’s cynical lies about Oleg Sentsov debunked by International Criminal Court,’ Human Rights in Ukraine, 5 December 2016 ‘Russia: Crimean activists sentenced after “fatally flawed” military trial,’ Amnesty International, 25 August 2015 |