Memorial recognized the “Crimean terrorists” Sentsov and Kolchenko as political prisoners

The Memorial human rights center recognized Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov and anti-fascist Alexander Kolchenko, accused of preparing terrorist attacks in Crimea, as political prisoners. As stated in a press release from Memorial, the case of the “Crimean terrorists” from the very beginning was associated with a “flagrant violation of human rights and international norms.” After analyzing his materials, human rights activists came to the conclusion that the accusations against Sentsov are based on evidence of unacceptably low quality. The director did not participate in either the arson or the preparation to blow up the Lenin monument, but the FSB calls him the leader of a criminal group. The only confirmation of speculation that he gave orders to carry out terrorist attacks is the testimony of Gennady Afanasyev and Alexey Chirniy, who made a deal with the investigation. At the same time, both of them said that they gave them under pressure. Alexander Kolchenko’s situation is somewhat different: human rights activists believe that the arson of the United Russia office window that he is charged cannot be classified as a terrorist attack, punishable by up to 30 years in prison. This is evidenced by the fact that the arson was committed at night, its participants understood that the office was empty, and therefore did not intentionally create a threat to human life, none of them demonstrated intent to intimidate the population, which is a mandatory qualifying sign of a terrorist attack, and did not put forward any requirements. Memorial draws attention to the fact that in recent years the offices of United Russia have been repeatedly subjected to arson, but they were classified under Article 167 of the Criminal Code (deliberate destruction of property) or Article 213 of the Criminal Code (hooliganism). “A number of factors make it clear that the case has obvious political implications. One of them is the constant inappropriate mention of the Right Sector. The investigation does not have any real data indicating that Sentsov or Kolchenko have any connection with this organization banned in Russia. Moreover, in his views, Kolchenko is a left-wing anarchist, anti-fascist; nationalism, even moderate, is alien to him. From the point of view of the gravity and validity of the accusation, such an obsession with the Right Sector is meaningless: crimes can be committed without being related to it, without being its supporter, and belonging to the Right Sector should not make the responsibility heavier. We believe that in fact, “Right Sector” is obsessively included in the accusation in order to create a primitive media image of a nationalist threat in Crimea,” human rights activists say. “Memorial” demands that Sentsov be immediately released and rehabilitated, that the charge of participation in a terrorist community be dropped against Kolchenko, and that the charge of terrorism be reclassified to an adequate article, for example, the destruction of someone else’s property by arson. Now the case of Sentsov and Kolchenko is being considered by the North Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don. "Mediazone" conducts online broadcasts from each meeting.