On 14 June this year, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that, in particular, demanded “that the Russian authorities immediately and unconditionally release Oleg Sentsov and all other illegally detained Ukrainian citizens in Russia and on the Crimean peninsula”.
Oleg Sentsov is a Ukrainian film maker who lived in Crimea. He stayed there after Russia had annexed the Crimean peninsula; shortly after the annexation, Sentsov was arrested, forcibly “granted” a Russian citizenship, falsely charged with terrorist activities and sentenced to 20 years.
Oleg Sentsov
On 14 May 2018, Sentsov went on an indefinite hunger strike demanding to release all Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russia and Crimea – there are more than 70 of them. Sentsov is dying right now.
Out of 627 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), 485 voted for the resolution, 76 voted against, and 66 abstained. Here is a full list of MEPs voted against the resolution on political prisoners in Russia and Crimea. It is hardly a coincidence that almost all the MEPs listed here represent the pro-Putin “red-brown alliance”.
| NAME | PARTY | IDEOLOGY | GROUP |
Bulgaria |
|||
| Georgi PIRINSKI | Bulgarian Socialist Party | Centre-left | S&D |
Czech Republic |
|||
| Kateřina KONEČNÁ | Komunistická strana Čech a Moravy | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
Cyprus |
|||
| Neoklis SYLIKIOTIS | Progressive Party of Working People | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
France |
|||
| Marie-Christine ARNAUTU | Front national | Far-right | ENF |
| Nicolas BAY | Front national | Far-right | ENF |
| Joëlle BERGERON | Independent [Front national] | Far-right | EFDD |
| Dominique BILDE | Front national | Far-right | ENF |
| Marie-Christine BOUTONNET | Front national | Far-right | ENF |
| Steeve BRIOIS | Front national | Far-right | ENF |
| Aymeric CHAUPRADE | Les Français Libres [Front national] | Far-right | EFDD |
| Jacques COLOMBIER | Front national | Far-right | ENF |
| Mireille D’ORNANO | Les Patriotes [Front national] | Far-right | EFDD |
| Sylvie GODDYN | Front national | Far-right | ENF |
| Bruno GOLLNISCH | Front national | Far-right | NI |
| Jean-François JALKH | Front national | Far-right | ENF |
| France JAMET | Front national | Far-right | ENF |
| Patrick LE HYARIC | Front de Gauche | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Gilles LEBRETON | Front national | Far-right | ENF |
| Dominique MARTIN | Front national | Far-right | ENF |
| Bernard MONOT | Front national | Far-right | ENF |
| Sophie MONTEL | Les Patriotes [Front national] | Far-right | EFDD |
| Joëlle MÉLIN | Front national | Far-right | ENF |
| Younous OMARJEE | L’union pour les Outremer | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Jean-Luc SCHAFFHAUSER | Rassemblement bleu Marine | Far-right | ENF |
| Mylène TROSZCZYNSKI | Front national | Far-right | ENF |
| Marie-Christine VERGIAT | Front de Gauche | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Marie-Pierre VIEU | Front de Gauche | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
Germany |
|||
| Stefan ECK | Independent [Partei Mensch Umwelt Tierschutz] | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Cornelia ERNST | Die Linke | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Sabine LÖSING | Die Linke | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Jörg MEUTHEN | Alternative für Deutschland | Far-right | EFDD |
| Martina MICHELS | Die Linke | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Martin SCHIRDEWAN | Die Linke | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Helmut SCHOLZ | Die Linke | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Gabriele ZIMMER | Die Linke | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
Greece |
|||
| Nikolaos CHOUNTIS | Popular Unity [Syriza] | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Georgios EPITIDEIOS | Golden Dawn | Far-right | NI |
| Lampros FOUNTOULIS | Golden Dawn | Far-right | NI |
| Stelios KOULOGLOU | Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left) | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Kostadinka KUNEVA | Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left) | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Konstantinos PAPADAKIS | Communist Party of Greece | Far-left | NI |
| Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS | Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left) | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Sofia SAKORAFA | Independent [Syriza] | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Eleftherios SYNADINOS | Independent [Golden Dawn] | Far-right | NI |
| Sotirios ZARIANOPOULOS | Communist Party of Greece | Far-left | NI |
Ireland |
|||
| Luke Ming FLANAGAN | Independent | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
Italy |
|||
| Mara BIZZOTTO | Lega Nord | Far-right | ENF |
| Mario BORGHEZIO | Lega Nord | Far-right | ENF |
| Angelo CIOCCA | Lega Nord | Far-right | ENF |
| Eleonora FORENZA | Lista Tsipras-L’Altra Europa | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Danilo Oscar LANCINI | Lega Nord | Far-right | ENF |
| Curzio MALTESE | Lista Tsipras-L’Altra Europa | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Giancarlo SCOTTA’ | Lega Nord | Far-right | ENF |
| Barbara SPINELLI | Independent [Lista Tsipras-L’Altra Europa] | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Marco ZANNI | Independent [Movimento 5 Stelle] | Far-right | ENF |
Latvia |
|||
| Andrejs MAMIKINS | “Saskaņa” sociāldemokrātiskā partija | Centre-left | S&D |
Netherlands |
|||
| Marcel de GRAAFF | Partij voor de Vrijheid | Far-right | ENF |
| André ELISSEN | Partij voor de Vrijheid | Far-right | ENF |
| Olaf STUGER | Partij voor de Vrijheid | Far-right | ENF |
| Auke ZIJLSTRA | Partij voor de Vrijheid | Far-right | ENF |
Portugal |
|||
| João FERREIRA | Partido Comunista Português | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| António MARINHO E PINTO | Partido Democrático Republicano | Centre-right | ALDE/ADLE |
| Marisa MATIAS | Bloco de Esquerda | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| João PIMENTA LOPES | Partido Comunista Português | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Miguel VIEGAS | Partido Comunista Português | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
Spain |
|||
| Xabier BENITO ZILUAGA | PODEMOS | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Javier COUSO PERMUY | Izquierda Unida | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Tania GONZÁLEZ PEÑAS | PODEMOS | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO | Izquierda Unida | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Maria Lidia SENRA RODRÍGUEZ | Alternativa galega de esquerda en Europa | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Lola SÁNCHEZ CALDENTEY | PODEMOS | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Estefanía TORRES MARTÍNEZ | PODEMOS | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
| Miguel URBÁN CRESPO | PODEMOS | Far-left | GUE-NGL |
United Kingdom |
|||
| Janice ATKINSON | Independent [UKIP] | Far-right | ENF |
| James CARVER | UKIP | Far-right | EFDD |
| Steven WOOLFE | Independent [UKIP] | Far-right | NI |