Russia rejects Sentsov’s mother’s pardon request

Breaking news
15 August 2018, 18:09

On August 15, the 94th day of Sentsov's hunger strike, Kremlin's answered to Lyudmyla Sentsova late on August 14, her July 13 request for a pardon was rejected on the grounds that Russian law requires that "a convicted individual must ask for clemency personally." Sentsov has previously said that he will not ask for a pardon because he believes he was jailed on politically motivated charges and has not committed a crime.

As it was reported by Radio Liberty, on August 9 a letter by his mother asking Russian President Vladimir Putin to pardon her son had been handed to Russia's Special Commission for Clemency.

Sentsov, a vocal opponent of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, was sentenced in 2015 for conspiracy to commit terrorist acts, charges he and human rights groups say were politically motivated.

Acording to his lawyer, Dmitriy Dinze, Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who has been on a hunger strike in a Russian prison for nearly three months, lost some 30 kilograms and has a very low hemoglobin level, resulting in anemia and a slow heartbeat of about 40 beats per minute.

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