Russian prosecutors ask for 23 years in jail for Crimean filmmaker in

Sentsov also quoted Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov, saying “the greatest sin on this earth is cowardice”, and ended his speech with an address to all Russians.

Acclaimed filmmakers from across the globe have written to Russian President Vladimir Putin expressing concern over the prosecution of Sentsov, an up-and-coming director.

The judicial collegium has decided that the sentence in the Sentsov case will be read on August 25.

“Well, officially there is a presumption of innocence. In the case of Sentsov, the case which appears to be rather politicized, the chances of acquittal are, well, to put it euphemistically – extremely poor”, she said.

The Kremlin annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 following a hastily called referendum and defended its right to the Russian-speaking territory as responding to the people’s will.

They were accused of being members of a right-wing Ukrainian group and conducting arson attacks.

Amnesty worldwide last month said there were “serious concerns regarding the two men’s rights to a fair trial” due to excessive charges and allegations of torture.

Sentsov stood accused of having committed “crimes of a terrorist nature”, as his trial resumed in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russian Federation.

Sentsov, who didn’t apply for Russian citizenship, was grabbed on the street in Crimea’s capital in May 2014 by Russian security officers and resurfaced days later in custody in Moscow.

He pleaded not guilty at the beginning of the trial.

On Friday, a court in Rostov will also decide whether Nadia Savchenko, a Ukrainian army helicopter pilot, will be tried for murder in Moscow or the remote border town of Donetsk. He has been detained by Russian authorities ever since, Ukraine Today reported.

Earlier on Wednesday a court in Pskov sentenced an Estonian security official to 15 years in prison for espionage, drawing condemnation from the west.

Savchenko denies the charges and says she was abducted inside Ukraine and taken to Russian Federation.