On July 15, as France triumphed in the final fixture of FIFA World Cup, Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, remembered Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, who has been starving in the Russian prison for 63 consecutive days. The official published the respective post on Twitter.
'As the world society's eyes are upon the finale of the FIFA World Cup in Moscow, I think a lot about Ukrainian movie maker Oleg Sentsov, who has been deprived of freedom for four years and starving for two months', she wrote.
French leader Emmanuel Macron was present at the stadium during the game; he met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin before the match.
As is known, the native of Crimea, film director and political activist, Sentsov has been serving time in the Russian penal colony in Labytnangi since May 2014. This spring, he announced a hunger strike, demanding to release all Ukrainian political prisoners, illegally held by the Kremlin.
Oleg Sentsov was illegally detained in Crimea in 2014, then taken to Russia. They judged him and sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment at a high-security penal colony. The prosecutors charged Sentsov with preparing terrorist acts in the occupied Crimea. Sentsov denies his guilt. Ukraine's government, common citizens and the international society - politicians, artists, public figures - urge the Kremlin to release him.
Sentsov enjoys the wide support of the many in Ukraine and abroad. Rallies, where participants urge to release him, are held worldwide - in Ukraine, Russia, the EU and the U.S.
