13 Jul 2018 14:13

Pardon request sent by Sentsov's mother to Putin to be processed as soon as it is received - Peskov

MOSCOW. July 13 (Interfax) - The request for pardoning Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, which has been sent by Sentsov's mother to Russian President Vladimir Putin, will be processed as soon as it is received by the Kremlin, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told the press on Friday.

"Let us wait until it is received. Of course, it will be processed and will not pass unnoticed," Peskov said.

Russian laws clearly define rules of initiating a pardon procedure, Peskov said.

"If I recall correctly, the law does not mention such cases. It clearly says what should happen to begin a pardon procedure," Peskov said in response to the question whether the mother's appeal would be enough to pardon her son.

As to why Putin pardoned Ukrainian citizen Nadiya Savchenko and two Crimean Tatars without their request, Peskov said, "This is a legal issue. I cannot answer this question. It is beyond my jurisdiction."

He could not say either how soon the pardon request would be processed after it reaches the Kremlin.

"There are no standard timeframes. I cannot tell you. Besides, as you know, this is a rather high-profile case," Peskov said.

"On one hand, it is absolutely clear from the angle of the sentence, the fact that the court found him guilty of a very grave felony. On the other hand, this is a high-profile case, which will definitely be considered, but I cannot tell you when," Peskov said.