Russian Justice Minister Describes EU Commissioner's Call For Sentsov Release As PR Stunt

GENEVA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2018) The European justice commissioner's letter urging the Russian Justice Ministry to release Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, convicted in Russia on terrorist charges, is likely to be a PR move, since the issue of reversing court rulings lies beyond the ministry's competence, Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov said on Friday.

On Tuesday, Politico news outlet reported that European Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova had sent a letter to Konovalov urging him to "reconsider the case" of Sentsov "on humanitarian grounds and bearing in mind Russia's international commitments on human rights" and release him.

"We have received [the letter], but it is absolutely not our competence. You know, the Russian Justice Ministry is not empowered to carry out criminal prosecution, or, even more, to reverse court decisions. Not a single justice ministry in the world is given such competence. Therefore, it was likely to be a PR campaign or the mass mailing of information to draw additional attention to the situation," Konovalov told reporters.

Sentsov was convicted by a Russian court in 2015 for setting up a terrorist cell and plotting a terrorist attack in Crimea. The Ukrainian national has denied his guilt and has been on a hunger strike since mid-May.