Observers treat trial in Oleg Sentsov's case as forejudged

In Rostov-on-Don, the court has completed the trial in the case against Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov and ecologist Alexander Kolchenko accused of terrorism. Observers believe the court will pronounce the verdict of guilty.

Oleg Sentsov and Alexander Kolchenko are accused of committing terror acts, that is, the arsons of the offices of the public organization "Russian Community of Crimea" and the representative office of the "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia) Party in Simferopol on April 14 and 18, 2014. The sentencing is scheduled for August 25.

At the court session held on August 19, public prosecutor Oleg Tkachenko has stated that "the fact of the arsons is not in doubt and it has been proven in court."

Since Oleg Sentsov and Alexander Kolchenko have abandoned the pleadings in court, the speech was presented by Vladimir Samokhin, an advocate of the Ukrainian film director. He has stated that "the terrorist organization" had been created artificially by investigators and that most of the evidences were obtained in violation of the law."

Besides, Vladimir Samokhin has also pointed to contradictions in the testimonies given by a number of prosecution witnesses.

The observers interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have expressed the opinion that the court will acquit the defendants. Grigory Oganezov, a member of the Council of Coordinators of the "Left-Wing Front" movement, also believes the defendants are not guilty.

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