Demonstrators Show Support For Sentsov on 100th Day of Hunger Strike

It is one hundred days since Ukrainian political prisoner Oleg Sentsov went on hunger strike. He says the strike will continue until Russia releases all of Ukraine’s political prisoners.

Demonstration in support of the Ukrainian filmmaker and political prisoner Oleg Sentsov on the 100th day of his hunger strike outside the Russian embassy in Kyiv, August 21, 2018. Photo: Hromadske/Anastasia Vlasova

According to reports from his lawyer, cousin and human rights activists, his health is seriously deteriorating. A representative of the Russian Public Monitoring Commission has stated that Sentsov will be force-fed if his life is at risk.

READ MORE: Sentsov Must Ask Putin for Pardon Himself

Barbed wire is the symbol of the international “Solidarity with Oleg Sentsov” campaign. The organizers called on demonstrators to use it on their t-shirts and placards. Demonstration in support of the Ukrainian filmmaker and political prisoner Oleg Sentsov on the 100th day of his hunger strike outside the Russian embassy in Kyiv, August 21, 2018. Photo: Hromadske/Anastasia Vlasova

Demonstration in support of the Ukrainian filmmaker and political prisoner Oleg Sentsov on the 100th day of his hunger strike outside the Russian embassy in Kyiv, August 21, 2018. Photo: Hromadske/Anastasia Vlasova

To mark the milestone in the filmmaker’s hunger strike, there was demonstration outside the Russian embassy in Kyiv. Around 100 people were in attendance. Some people even read out letters they had written to Sentsov.

Demonstration in support of the Ukrainian filmmaker and political prisoner Oleg Sentsov on the 100th day of his hunger strike outside the Russian embassy in Kyiv, August 21, 2018. Photo: Hromadske/Anastasia Vlasova

The “Solidarity with Oleg Sentsov” demonstration is part of initiative launched by international writers’ association PEN in London.

Oleg Sentsov’s cousin Natalya Kaplan (center). Demonstration in support of the Ukrainian filmmaker and political prisoner Oleg Sentsov on the 100th day of his hunger strike outside the Russian embassy in Kyiv, August 21, 2018. Photo: Hromadske/Anastasia Vlasova

READ MORE: From Crimea to Siberia: How Russia is Tormenting Political Prisoners Sentsov and Kolchenko

Demonstration in support of the Ukrainian filmmaker and political prisoner Oleg Sentsov on the 100th day of his hunger strike outside the Russian embassy in Kyiv, August 21, 2018. Photo: Hromadske/Anastasia Vlasova

And it wasn’t just Kyiv that came out to show their support. Similar demonstrations took place in Ukrainian cities Lviv and Vinnytsia, and in St. Petersburg, Russia.  Further afield, Sentsov supporters also held events in the United Kingdom, Kenya, Sweden, Denmark and the United States.

/Translated by Sofia Fedeczko