Sentsov sentenced to 20 years, Kolchenko to ten years in high-security prison

Sentsov's co-defendant, 26-year-old Oleksandr Kolchenko, was found guilty of involvement with a terrorist group and sentenced to 10 years in prison. After pronouncing the verdict and sentence, the judge asked the defendants if the court's ruling was clear to them. In response, Sentsov and Kolchenko sang Ukraine's national anthem and chanted: "Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes!" Their lawyers said the verdicts would be appealed. Sentsov, who opposed Russia's March 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula, was arrested in May of that year on suspicion of planning the fire-bombings of pro-Russian organizations in Crimea. The 39-year-old director denied all charges against him, saying they were politically motivated, and told the court on August 19 that a "trial by occupiers cannot be fair by definition." The prosecution of Sentsov and Kolchenko has been widely criticized as retaliation for their outspoken opposition to Russia's annexation of Crimea. Sentsov and Kolchenko were arrested along with two other Ukrainian citizens - Oleksiy Chyrniy and Hennadiy Afanasyev - in May 2014. Earlier, Chyrniy and Afanasyev had been found guilty of involvement in a terrorist cell and sentenced to seven years each in prison.