Margie Orford Interviewed about Oleg Sentsov on France 24

To mark the hundredth day of imprisoned filmmaker Oleg Sentsov’s indefinite hunger strike in a Siberian penal colony, PEN SA and PEN International Board Member Margie Orford spoke to France 24’s The Debate, in a bid to raise awareness about his plight.

Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Ukrainian-born Sentsov was arrested in Crimea and convicted to 20 years in jail by a Russian court on charges of plotting terrorism acts. Although these allegations appear to be fabricated, Sentsov is still kept in prison by Russian authorities, without access to any correspondence.

On 22 August, our colleagues at PEN International and English PEN – in partnership with Save Oleg Sentsov, Amnesty UK, and the Belarus Free Theatre – delivered messages of support from all over the world to the Russian Embassy in London, urging the authorities to ensure that Sentsov is allowed to receive them. After the Russian Embassy refused to accept the messages, a reading of Sentsov’s work took place.

Orford’s interview with France 24 may be watched above, or at this link.