Political Prisoner Sentsov’s Health Significantly Deteriorating – Lawyer

Ukrainian political prisoner Oleg Sentsov is in poor health, his lawyer Dmitry Dinze told Hromadske.

The filmmaker is currently serving a 20-year sentence in Russia for fabricated terrorism charges and has been on hunger strike since May 14, demanding the release of all of Russia’s Ukrainian political prisoners.

According to Dinze, Sentsov still has no intention of ending his hunger strike.

Dinze, who recently visited Sentsov in the Siberian town of Labytnangi where he is imprisoned, says that the filmmaker is suffering from heart problems and the prison administration have tried twice to convince him to go to hospital. He also has low hemoglobin levels, which has led to anaemia, and his heart rate is also very low at 40 bmp.

READ MORE: From Crimea to Siberia: How Russia is Tormenting Political Prisoners Sentsov and Kolchenko

His lawyer adds that Sentsov has been affected by the high temperatures in the Labytnangi prison as he has low tolerance to heat. Overall, Sentsov is now very weak.

Sentsov himself is also concerned about what may happen if he is sent to a civilian prison as “the supervisor of the intensive care unit may treat him aggressively and will most likely only do him harm,” Dinze says. Even getting to the hospital may be harmful as he “simply cannot endure the transfer and could die.”

/By Sofia Fedeczko