Russia: detained opponent Alexeï Navalny announces hunger strike
Alexeï Navalny, imprisoned in a penal colony, announced a hunger strike on Wednesday.
Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV AFP / File
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Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny, imprisoned in a penal colony, announced a hunger strike on Wednesday, denouncing the lack of access to treatment and "torture" by deprivation of sleep.
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"
I am declaring a hunger strike to demand law enforcement and to let a doctor come to see me
," wrote on his Instagram account Mr. Navalny, who says he suffers from back and leg pain.
"
What else can I do?"
I have the right to bring in a doctor and receive medicine.
They stupidly give me neither one, nor the other,
”he continued.
The announcement comes as this fierce critic of the Kremlin claimed last week that his health was deteriorating.
Victim of poisoning with a nerve agent last August, he attributes the responsibility to the Kremlin, which rejects any involvement.
An anti-corruption activist and fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, he was arrested in January, as soon as he returned to Russia from Germany where he was recovering.
In February, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for a 2014 fraud case that he, NGOs and many Western capitals believe is political.
►
To read also: Three days in the life of Alexeï Navalny
Woke up "eight times a night" during checks
Last week, his relatives expressed fears for his health in detention, the opponent complaining of severe pain in his back and right leg.
The prison administration for its part considered that he was in a "
satisfactory
" condition.
On Wednesday Alexei Navalny said he now also suffers from his left leg.
“
I no longer feel parts of my right leg, and now my left leg
,” he wrote.
He also reaffirmed that he was a victim of "
sleep deprivation torture
", ensuring that he was woken up "
eight times a night
" during checks on his jailers.
Monday, Alexeï Navalny also said on Instagram that he had received several warnings since his imprisonment, which exposes him to a possible placement in a disciplinary cell.
►
To read also: Russia: the Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny could be sent to solitary confinement
(With
AFP
)
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