KYIV – Oleg Sentsov, a Crimean filmmaker and political prisoner in Russia, became the laureate of the yearly Sakharov Prize on October 25 that the European Parliament bestowed for his human rights stance against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

“Through his courage and determination, by putting his life in danger, the filmmaker…has become a symbol of the struggle for the release of political prisoners held in Russia and around the world,” said European Union Parliament President Antonio Tajani in a news release.