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(Photo d'illustration) The spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, here at a press conference in Moscow on March 29, 2018. Yuri KADOBNOV / AFP

The European parliamentarians have widely welcomed Thursday, October 25, the Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov imprisoned in Russia and winner of the Sakharov Prize. For its part, Moscow speaks of a decision " totally politicized ".

Imprisoned in the Russian Far North, Oleg Sentsov received Thursday the Sakharov Prize , awarded by the European Parliament. The Ukrainian filmmaker, 42, is serving a 20-year prison sentence, convicted by the Russian courts of "terrorism" and "arms trafficking". A case that outrages Western chancelleries and human rights organizations. The announcement prompted few reactions in Moscow where the decision is considered political, reports our correspondent in the Russian capital, Etienne Bouche .

The announcement did not really touch Russian diplomacy. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was content to criticize a " totally politicized " decision. " Why did they choose Sentsov and not Savchenko? ". An allusion to the Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko , former symbol of opposition to Russia who has since fallen out of favor in his country.

Asked by Ria Novosti, MP Alexey Tchepa blasted " one more Russophobic step from the European Parliament ". The vice-president of the lower house, Piotr Tolstoy, for his part estimated that "to attribute a prize to a person convicted of terrorism is the last step of a marked disregard for the norms and the law ".

" Terrorist " is how Sentsov is described in the Vzgliad newspaper, a publication that is loyal to the Kremlin. The author refers in his article to a former Chechen warlord: " If the European Parliament awarded the Shamil Basayev Prize, Sentsov would have received it. "

Ovation in the European Parliament

Earlier in the day, it was under loud applause in the plenary session of the European Parliament that the Sakharov Prize was awarded to the Ukrainian filmmaker by Parliament Speaker Antonio Tajani, says our special correspondent , Anastasia Becchio . " Oleg Sentsov has become a symbol for the release of political prisoners in Russia and the world, " he said.

In awarding the prize, the European Union, which imposed sanctions on Russia after the annexation of Crimea , sends a signal to Moscow. This is the feeling of German Green MEP Rebecca Harms: " Oleg Sentsov has become the face of democratic resistance everywhere in Eastern Europe. He is probably the most important prisoner of Putin in the conflict with Ukraine. "

Oleg Sentsov was in contention with two other finalists: Moroccan activist Nasser Zefzafi , also in prison, and a group of NGOs helping migrants in the Mediterranean. The Ukrainian filmmaker was nominated by the first group in Parliament, the EPP.

Socialists and Greens bent for NGOs. An application too sensitive in the European context , considers Virginie Rozière of the group of Socialists and Democrats: " It was knowingly. We knew that because it's a political candidacy, because she puts her finger where it hurts, she had little chance of being accepted. "

The President of the European Parliament has called for the urgent release of Oleg Sentsov. The prize will be awarded on December 12 in Strasbourg.