During the joint meeing of Committees on Development (DEVE), Foreign Affairs (AFET) and Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) in association with the Delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee and the Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, MEPs exchange of views with the representatives of the 2018 Sakharov Prize laureate, Oleg SENTSOV, in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Statements by David McALLISTER, Natalia KAPLAN, cousin of Oleg Sentsov, Dariusz ROSATI (EPP, PL), Rebecca HARMS (Greens/EFA, DE) and Mirja VEHKAPERÂ (ALDE, FI).

Exchange of views with the representatives of the 2018 Sakharov Prize laureates: extracts from the joint meeting

SOUNDBITE (English), David McALLISTER, AFET Chair , All here in this room aware of a very sad faith of your cousin, that he sentenced to 20 years of jail and that he was send to high security prison in Siberia, thousands of kilometres of home.

SOUNDBITE (Russian), Natalia KAPLAN, cousin of Oleg Sentsov, Sakharov Prize winner 2018, For Oleg it was especially harsh (prison conditions), he started losing hair and teeth during the first months of his sentence, but he didn&rsquo;t give up, and it impressed me but not only me, he is working actively and he is filming. Now it can sound paradoxical, he is making a film based on his play.

SOUNDBITE (Russian), Natalia KAPLAN, cousin of Oleg Sentsov, Sakharov Prize winner 2018, It is almost 5 years and the conditions are becoming worse, he is very enthusiastic, he supports the people who are outside, who are free, he is a hero. And let&rsquo;s not forget that he simply a Human being, he doesn&rsquo;t like to be called a hero, so thank you very much from Oleg for the Prize.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dariusz ROSATI (EPP, PL), EU-Ukraine, He has become an inspiration for all people who face oppression around the world, but above that we want to use this opportunity to increase our pressure on the Kremlin and to say very clearly and loudly, that we do not buy the Kremlin propaganda and that we know the real state of affairs in Russia and in Ukraine. It is also our way to send a message to each and every Ukrainian prisoners sitting in Russian jail, simply due to their refusal to accept the Russian occupation that we do not forget them here in the European Parliament and we take every occasion to ask and push for their release.

SOUNDBITE (German), Rebecca HARMS (Greens/EFA, DE), EuroNest, My most important wish that I would like to express today, I do not give on the idea of Oleg being released, being a free man again. The attribution of this award, that we have decided to give Oleg this award, I sincerely hope that this will pave the way for their release and that we will see him in our midst soon. In addition let me also say that Oleg Sentsov never defended his own cause for himself, he was happy to make films, we know journalists from Kiev, form Donbass, from Crimea who also would like to work as journalists again, we know farmers from Crimea who would like to return to their farms, there are all to many citizens currently behind bars in the Russian Federation. And Oleg Sentsov and that has been said by him time and time again, this Prize, this award and the hunger strike that Oleg undertook, this really a prize not only to Oleg but to all those that had been unfairly put behind prison bars in Russia.

SOUNDBITE (Finnish), Mirja VEHKAPER&#194; (ALDE, FI), DEVE Vice Chair , Today we honour our Sakharov Prize winner Oleg Sentsov together with him we honour all those individuals that struggle and fight on a daily basis in their local communities, or more widely to up hold Human rights, that gives them Universal value.

Exchange of views with the representatives of the 2018 Sakharov Prize laureates: extracts from the joint meeting

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Oleg SENTSOV, Sakharov Prize 2018