Dmitry Dinze, the lawyer of Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who is serving a 20-year term in prison in Russia and has been on hunger strike since May 14, has said the Russian authorities received two petitions for Sentsov's pardon.
"At least two petitions for pardon have been received, I will not say from whom, how or why. I received this information on anonymous terms. I believe those people who have done it will have to voice that. One of the petitions for pardon has been officially received from Europe. And there is another local petition for pardon. Let the people themselves voice that, I cannot voice," the lawyer told Hromadske.
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The lawyer also said it's not the family who should legally ask for pardon. It can be a certain person who is not indifferent to the fate of Sentsov.
"It can be, for example, people from abroad and officials. There are no restrictions on petition for pardon," Dinze said.
The lawyer also confirmed that Sentsov was in the medical unit and his condition was stable.
"I can say he is now in a stable condition, he is still in the medical unit and, therefore, there are no threats to his health condition. Of course, it is not known what will happen tomorrow, because, as the doctors said, the crisis may occur at any time," Dinze said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Sentsov was detained by FSB operatives in Crimea in the spring of 2014. He was transferred to Russia, where he was tried on trumped-up charges of plotting terrorist attacks and arson of party offices on the peninsula.
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The Russian court in August 2015 sentenced Sentsov to 20 years in prison.
He is being held in the colony located in a distant Arctic town of Labytnangi in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area, Russia.
Sentsov went on a hunger strike on May 14, demanding the release of all Ukrainian political prisoners. On May 31, he stated that he was "not interested in being swapped," as he is "a man who does or dies."
Ukrainian Ombudsperson Liudmyla Denisova on June 13 flew to Russia to pay visits to Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russian prisons. She intended to meet with Sentsov first. On the same day, Russia's Ombudsperson Tatiana Moskalkova said that Denisova went to Sentsov on a "personal initiative," and that her visit had not been agreed.
So far, the Russian side has neither allowed Denisova to visit Sentsov nor talk to him via video link.
