Oleh Sentsov is among nominees of Sakharov Prize 2018

October 3, 2018.

    Oleh Sentsov, a Ukrainian film director illegally detained by Russia, has become one of the nominees for the 2018 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. He was nominated by the European People’s Party of the European Parliament
    Oleh Sentsov, a Ukrainian film director, convicted to 20 years in prison for “plotting terrorist acts” against the Russian “de facto” rule in Crimea. Amnesty International has described the court process as “an unfair trial before a military court”. He has become a symbol for the approximately 70 Ukrainian citizens illegally arrested and convicted to long prison sentences by the Russian occupation forces in the Crimean peninsula. He has been on hunger strike since May 2018. Nominated by EPP (Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats).
    Since 1988, Parliament has awarded the Sakharov Prize to individuals and organisations that defend human rights and fundamental freedoms. The foreign affairs and development committees and the human rights subcommittee announced the nominees for 2018 on 27 September.
    Nominations for the Sakharov Prize can be made by political groups and groups of at least 40 MEPs. The foreign affairs and development committees, based on the nominations, vote on a shortlist of three finalists. Then, the Conference of Presidents - consisting of the president of the European Parliament and the leaders of the political groups - selects the laureate.
    The 2017 Sakharov Prize was awarded to the Democratic Opposition in Venezuela.
    Next steps
    9 October: the foreign affairs and development committees vote on a shortlist of three finalists
    25 October:Parliament's political leaders announce the winner
    12 December: Sakharov Prize award ceremony in Strasbourg