Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker and former political prisoner in Russia, has officially been presented with the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament.
Sentsov was awarded the prize in December 2018. At the time, he was still being held prisoner by Russia in a penal colony in the country’s far north, so his cousin, Natalya Kaplan, claimed it for him.
Now, more than two months after his return to Ukraine as part of the Russia-Ukraine prisoner exchange in September, Sentsov was given an official reception on Nov. 26 in Strasbourg, during which European Parliament President David Maria Sassoli handed the prize to the activist.
In his address to European parliamentarians, Sentsov said he perceives the award as a prize for all Ukrainian captives still held in jails in Russia and Russian-occupied Donbas and Crimea, as well as for all military servicepeople fighting and dying for Ukraine’s independence.
Sentsov also warned Europe about the dangers of rapprochement with the Kremlin amid Russia’s continuing war against Ukraine.
“There is a country that is probably the biggest Euro-optimist now,” he said.
Former Kremlin prisoner and Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov delivers a speech during an award ceremony to receive the 2018 European Parliament’s Sakharov human rights prize at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Nov. 26, 2019. (AFP)
“That country is Ukraine. Because we have no other way forward. It is a matter of survival to us. So every time when any one of you intends to pass the hand of friendship to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin over our heads, remember each and every one of the 13,000 killed in Ukraine. Remember hundreds of our guys held in prisons, who could be tortured right now, remember the Crimean Tatars who can be arrested at any moment while their homes are searched and their families are left with no parents.”
“Remember the guys in camouflage with patches on their sleeves, who are right now standing in dugouts, risking their lives for our and your freedom. Don’t forget about them.”
Sentsov was detained in May 2014 on charges of plotting terrorist attacks in his native Crimea, which had recently been illegally annexed by Moscow. The next year, Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He spent roughly 5 years in prison before being released.
The Sakharov Prize was established in 1988 in honor of Andrey Sakharov, the Soviet scientists turned political dissident. It is presented annually to persons or entities that are making an extraordinary contribution to defending human rights around the world.
As many as 47 recipients have been presented with the prize, which includes a reward worth 50,000 euro.
