Jailed Ukranian man’s mother appeals to Putin

The mother of Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, who has refused food for two months in a Russian prison, has appealed to President Vladimir Putin to pardon him as hopes fade for a speedy release.

“I ask you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, to show mercy and grant pardon to Oleg Sentsov, do not destroy his life and that of his loved ones. We are waiting for him at home,” she said in the letter dated June 22. Sentsov is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted on terrorism charges over an alleged arson plot in Crimea.