Court at Sentsov's trial refuses to challenge state prosecutor

The court in Rostov-on-Don has dismissed the motion lodged by the defence of the Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, accused of preparing a terror acts in the Crimea, with a demand to challenge the state prosecutor. The observers interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe that the defendants are innocent.

Earlier, on June 11, it became known that the case against Oleg Sentsov and activist Alexander Kolchenko was transferred to the North-Caucasian District Military Court. The consideration of the case on the merits began on July 21. Sentsov stated his innocence and political motives of his cases. The July 30 session continued questioning prosecution witnesses.

On May 30, 2014, in the Crimea, Sentsov was detained in a group of four people, treated by law enforcers as members of the "Right-Wing Sector", an organization banned in Russia. Investigators believe that Sentsov had created a terrorist community in the Crimea, which committed "arsons of the office of the public organization 'Russian Community of Crimea' and of the representative office of the 'Edinaya Rossiya' (United Russia) Party in Simferopol on April 14 and 18, 2014."

Observers at the trial believe that the filmmaker is innocent.

In the opinion of Simone Baumann, a German producer and a representative of the "German Films" Company, there is no mass campaign in support of Sentsov and Kolchenko in Russia because of absence of alternative information; she added that in Russia, the defendants are supported by their relatives and friends.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.