Flash mob demanding Sentsov's release held in European Parliament

The European Parliament has hosted a flash mob in support of Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, which was attended by MEPs, representatives of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the Council of Europe, Ukrainians working in EU institutions in Strasbourg, as well as representatives of the Ukrainian community, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The holding of a flash mob in the European Parliament during a session in Strasbourg was initiated by a European parliamentarian from Lithuania, head of the EP Group 'Friends of European Ukraine,' Petras Austervicius," the PromoUkraina association reported.

The report notes that the action was organized as part of a global campaign "Save Oleg Sentsov" launched by Ukrainian NGO Center for Civil Liberties. 

"The consequence of Russian annexation of Crimea, occupation of Donbas is that many Ukrainians are at prisons, being jailed and transported to Russia. And we count dozens of those people. And Oleg Sentsov is one of those. He is imprisoned in such a distant place of Siberia as Yamal. He declared a hunger strike. His health is not really good. It is absolutely right to draw the attention of the world public to this inhuman act, which Russians did to many Ukrainians, and to demand his release," Austervicius told Ukrinform.

He said that while organizing an action in defense of Sentsov, he did not expect an answer from Moscow. He said that the main thing was to pay attention to lawlessness, in particular, before the 2018 World Cup.

"Frankly, I don't expect a response from Putin or from the Kremlin, but we are human beings, we are free people to show our position and remind the whole community, the whole world that oppressions in Russia, all kinds of provocations, killing of people are going on," Austervicius added.

Participants in the action were holding posters with photos of Oleg Sentsov and the inscriptions "FreeSentsov," "Save Oleg Sentsov," and chanting "Free Sentsov."

On June 1-2, 2018, Ukrainians around the world will hold rallies in support of Oleg Sentsov, who went on a hunger strike as a sign of solidarity with other political prisoners.

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