KIEV (Sputnik) – Oleg Sentsov was arrested last May, two months after its population backed reunification with Russia by an overwhelming majority, on suspicion of planning to damage logistical facilities across the Black Sea peninsula.
A total of 80 cultural and artistic figures were awarded by Poroshenko's decree on Sunday, including a two-year financial stipend to Sentsov, according to the Ukrainian president's official website.
Following Crimea's reunification, the FSB announced the arrest of Right Sector nationalist party members believed to have plotted terrorist acts in the Crimean cities of Yalta, Sevastopol and Simferopol.
Sentsov was among those detained but maintains his innocence, while activists argue his detention is politically motivated.
In February, the filmmaker was charged with illegal acquisition, sale and possession of weapons under Russia's Criminal Code.
