28 Hostages of the Kremlyn

28 HOSTAGES OF THE KREMLIN
4. UKRAINIANS DETAINED FOR POLITICAL REASONS IN CRIMEA
In May of 2014, four citizens of Ukraine: Gennadiy Afanasyev, Oleksandr
Kolchenko, Oleg Sentsov and Oleksiy Chyrniy, were detained in Crimea. Before
their detention, each of them had had an active pro-Ukrainian stance and openly
opposed the Russian occupation of the peninsula. The detainees were accused
of offences related to ‘terrorism’, namely: of the arson attack on the office
door of the Russian Community of Crimea and the window of the office of the
‘United Russia’ party, as well as conspiracy to carry out an explosion at the
Lenin monument and the Eternal Flame Memorial in Simferopol. Later, it became
clear that Afanasyev, Chyrniy and Kolchenko, indeed, were involved in the arson
attacks (the latter — only in one), but hardly can the nature and consequences
of these offences be qualified as terrorism (they rather constitute hooliganism).
The investigating authorities of the Russian Federation clearly qualified these
offences wrongly in order to conduct a show trial of the pro-Ukrainian activists
from Crimea, portraying them as an organised terrorist group.
According to the fabricated claims of the investigation, a ‘terrorist group’, consisting of a
few people, operated in Crimea. In addition to the above-mentioned persons, the group
also included Nikita Borkin, Ilya Zuykov, Enver Asanov and Stepan Tsiril, who are now
being pursued. The group was allegedly led by Oleg Sentsov, who gave the order to carry out
arson attacks and bombings in Simferopol.
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According to investigators, by its actions, the ‘terrorist group’ pursued the goal of ‘destabilising
the situation on the peninsula and exerting influence on the authorities to ensure that they
issue a decision to withdraw the ‘republic’ from the Russian Federation’.
On 23 May, 2014, the detained Ukrainians were moved to Moscow for further ‘investigation’.
The detainees were subjected to torture which was aimed at prompting confessions; also,
Ukrainian diplomats were denied the opportunity to visit them, as the Russian side stated that it
considers the Crimeans to be Russian citizens.
Official response of the General Prosecutor's Office, which, contrary to the official position of the Russian law
enforcement agencies, cites Sentsov, Kolchenko, Afanasyev and Chyrniy as citizens of Ukraine