BFF-65 Putin will ‘respond’ to proposals on Ukraine hunger striker: France

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FRANCE-RUSSIA-UKRAINE-POLITICS

Putin will ‘respond’ to proposals on Ukraine hunger striker: France

PARIS, Aug 10, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has
promised to “respond” to proposals made by France’s Emmanuel Macron to end a
hunger strike by jailed Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov in Russia, the
French leader’s office said Friday.

During a telephone call Friday morning the two leaders discussed the need
to find “a humanitarian solution to this situation,” with Putin committing
“to respond and quickly release details on Sentsov’s health,” the Elysee
Palace said in a statement.

Sentsov has been on hunger strike in a Russian prison for almost three
months in a bid to convince the government to free all of what he calls
Ukrainian political prisoners.

The 42-year-old is serving a 20-year sentence in the far north of Russia
after being convicted three years ago of arson attacks in his native Crimea
following its annexation by Moscow.

Sentsov’s lawyer Dmitry Dinze told AFP earlier this week that his client
had lost 30 kilograms (66 pounds), his heart rate has slowed and he has very
low levels of red blood cells.

Western governments, led by Macron, as well as celebrities including actor
Johnny Depp and writer Stephen King, have repeatedly urged the Kremlin to
release Sentsov.

His cousin wrote on Facebook this week that his condition was
“catastrophically bad,” adding that he had said in a letter that “the end is
near”.

BSS/AFP/SSS/1945 hrs