A number of Russian filmmakers have spoken out over the trial of their Ukrainian colleague Oleg Sentsov who is facing a sentence of up to 23 years charged with non-existent ‘terrorism’. Some are notable for their continued silence

As expected, the ’court’ has refused to move the trial of Ukrainian MP and former military pilot Nadiya Savchenko to Moscow. It is to continue in Russian Donetsk, a small city without proper court facilities and meaning that Savchenko will spend 3 hours a day being transported to and from the nearest prison

The prosecutor has demanded 23 years for Sentsov, 12 for Kolchenko in a case with no crime and where all evidence was obtained through torture. Russian human rights activist Zoya Svetova likens this to Stalinist repression, not a court trial

Three hostages: Estonian police officer Eston Kohver, Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, and Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko. Three people illegally abducted from their homelands and unjustly incarcerated by a rogue foreign power -- their lives uprooted and disrupted, their futures in doubt.

The renowned Memorial Human Rights Centre has recognized Hennadiy Afanasiev as a political prisoner and warned that he is in danger following his retraction of testimony against Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov and activist Oleksandr Kolchenko.

In his remarks, he challenged the legitimacy of an occupied Crimea "governed by criminals" and he spurned a path of "cowardice" that might accommodate or excuse Moscow’s actions in Ukraine

Russia’s Investigative Committee is proving predictably selective about which Russian journalists’ treatment prompts vociferous protest and criminal proceedings, and which cases are simply ignored.

The trial has begun in a Moscow court of five Russians charged with hate crimes over a stunt in which a Soviet star atop a Stalin-era skyscraper was painted in the yellow-and-blue colours of the Ukrainian flag.

Putin’s decree classifying information about military losses in peacetime as ‘state secret’ is widely seen as linked with Russia’s undeclared military engagement in Ukraine and can be used as a weapon against those trying to provide truthful information about the conflict, including details of Russian soldiers killed in the fighting

Gennady Afanasyev, one of the four opponents of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, arrested by the FSB on terrorism charges was almost certainly beaten by an FSB officer after he retracted his evidence against renowned Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov and civic activist Oleksandr Kolchenko

Russia’s destruction of sanctioned food items has rightly been called “a propaganda disaster” and aroused horror and outrage. The destruction is continuing unabated, however within days of Putin’s decree on Aug 6, pro-Kremlin media began trying to minimize the fallout

All evidence has now been presented Russia’s trial of renowned Crimean film director Oleg Sentsov and civic activist Oleksandr Kolchenko. There is nothing against the defendants, plenty that incriminates the FSB and its methods, yet an acquittal is not expected.

Public anger over the botched operation to rescue the crew of the sunken submarine Kursk was a nasty wake-up call for Vladimir Putin in 2000, the first year of his presidency. But 15 years later, Russians are far less critical of the government’s response -- a change a leading pollster says reflects the power of state TV.

Nobody has any idea what, if anything, 73-year-old Ukrainian from Poltava Yury Soloshenko is charged with since the material is classified, and the FSB investigators illegally prevented him from even seeing the lawyer of his choice

A day after the bloody carnage on Maidan, journalist Lidia Pankiv used a live TV show to tell her colleagues that they had blood on their hands. 18 months later the same must be said of those working for Russia’s TV propaganda machine, and, judging by interviews taken by Colta.ru correspondents, some of them know it.

Crimean film director Oleg Sentsov and anti-fascist activist Oleksandr Kolchenko both gave testimony on Thursday, but refused to take any further part in the proceedings which Sentsov openly calls a “concert”, not a court trial. Both men’s account of FSB tactics, including torture to obtain ‘confessions’ coincided with that given by Gennady Afanasyev who last week retracted his earlier testimony as having been given under torture

The Kremlin is steamrolling over criticism of its decision to destroy banned Western food imports, literally.

Gennady Afanasyev has told his lawyer of the torture he faced after being arrested in Crimea on May 9, 2014, about the pressure and threats immediately prior to his appearance in court last Friday, and that he has faced since he retracted the testimony he signed under torture.

’Memorial’ has declared both Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov and antifascist activist Oleksandr Kolchenko political prisoners. Its statement was issued on the same day that secret ‘witnesses’ made entirely unprovable allegations against Sentsov in court and main prosecution witness Gennady Afanasyev confirmed that his ‘confession’ had been extracted through torture

Hennadiy Afanasiev has refused to testify in the trial of Oleg Sentsov and Oleksandr Kolchenko and stated that he gave testimony earlier under duress.