Belarus Free Theatre’s I'm with the Banned is an artist-led campaign bringing together those who live in political freedom in solidarity with artists and activists who are censored or imprisoned in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and anywhere else in the world where justice and freedom are denied. MORE INFO http://www.belarusfreetheatre.com/en/bft/imwiththebanned/ I’m with the Banned is currently focused on Oleg Sentsov, the popular film director and pro-Ukrainian activist serving a 20-year prison sentence for a crime he did not commit. Based on fabricated charges by Russian authorities, Sentsov was falsely charged with being part of a terrorist conspiracy, charges his lawyers describe as absurd and fictitious. Sentsov stated that he was tortured by investigators, and a key witness recanted in the courtroom on the grounds that evidence had been extorted under torture. Amnesty International: “The whole trial was designed to send a message. It played into Russia’s propaganda war against Ukraine and was redolent of Stalinist-era show trials of dissidents." Oleg Sentsov first came to the attention of the international film world with Gaamer, a debut feature inspired by the computer and video-gaming club for young people that he had founded. It opened to great acclaim at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in 2012. The European Film Academy together with leading international film directors, including Pedro Almodóvar, Wim Wenders, Stephen Daldry, Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, have campaigned for Oleg Sentsov’s release, echoing the grave concerns of Amnesty International that his trial was a “total fiasco” and that the “entire case for the prosecution is built on a house of cards”. Fernando Bovaira named Sentsov an honorary member of the 62nd San Sebastian Film Festival’s main competition jury, and a chair was reserved for him in solidarity. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/12/oleg-sentsov-jailed-ukrainian-film-maker-letter-siberian-prison-putin Oleg Sentsov is not alone. LetMyPeopleGo, the civil society campaign in Kiev, are monitoring 28 cases of Ukrainian opponents to Russian annexation, who have been convicted by the Russian authorities on fabricated charges of ‘genocide’, ‘mass murder’, ‘terrorism’ and ‘espionage’. Some were abducted, most were denied legal and medical rights and the overwhelming majority were tortured. http://ccl.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/28Hostages_ENG_CCL_MF_Web-2.pdf On Monday 10 October, Belarus Free Theatre hosted the event Freedom of Expression in Ukraine at the House of Commons, in solidarity with Oleg Sentsov and all of the other Ukrainian political prisoners currently detained in Russian jails. BFT asked the British Government to put pressure on the Kremlin to release these men whose only crime is to have opposed the annexation of Crimea, an act that the British Government has declared illegal: www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-denounces-russias-continued-illegal-annexation-of-crimea http://www.unian.info/politics/1499858-uk-will-not-compromise-on-sovereignty-of-ukraine-johnson.html Regional experts Edward Lucas (Senior Editor at The Economist) and Peter Pomerantsev (author and producer) discussed resistance to the annexation of Crimea with leading Ukrainian campaigners visiting London for the event: Natalia Kaplan - cousin of Oleg Sentsov a popular film-maker, civil rights activist and single father of two children, currently incarcerated in Siberia, and facing another 18 years in jail. Natalia could not be in London for the event, but recorded a special video appeal for her cousin. Andrei Khliyvynuk - activist and frontman of Ukrainian supergroup, Boombox. Eugene Stepanenko - film and theatre director turned soldier. Belarus Free Theatre’s I’m with the Banned event is supported by Nobel Laureate for Literature Svetlana Alexievich and British film-maker Lord Puttnam on behalf of the European Film Academy. Both recorded a special message for the event, which was hosted by BFT trustee Rt Hon Maria Miller, MP. Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina and members of Belarus Free Theatre read extracts of letters from Oleg Sentsov and short scenes from Belarus Free Theatre's latest production, Burning Doors. http://belarusfreetheatre.com/freedom_of_expression/