Jailed Kremlin Critic Navalny Announces Hunger Strike

Jailed Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny on March 31 has declared a hunger strike until he receives proper medical treatment for severe back pain and numbness in his legs.

“I have declared a hunger strike demanding that the law be upheld and a doctor of my choice be allowed to visit me,” Navalny said in an Instagram post, which was published through his lawyers.

Navalny, 44, is currently incarcerated in Correctional Colony No. 2, about 100 kilometers from Moscow, The prison is known as one of the toughest penitentiaries in Russia.

He was detained at a Moscow airport in January immediately upon returning from Berlin, where he had recovered from what several Western laboratories determined was a poisoning attempt using a Novichok-type nerve agent that saw him fall seriously ill on a flight in Siberia in August 2020.

Navalny has said the assassination attempt was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin — an allegation rejected by the Kremlin.

A Moscow court in February ruled that, while in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of parole from an older embezzlement case, which is widely considered to be politically motivated.

His suspended 3 1/2-year sentence was converted into jail time, though the court reduced that amount to 2 1/2 years for time already served in detention.

Navalny’s health became an issue last week after his allies said they were worried that he was ailing and called on prison authorities to clarify his condition.

Navalny said he was suffering from severe back pains and that “nothing” was being done by prison authorities to solve the problem other than being given some ibuprofen.

Hundreds of Russian physicians have demanded authorities to provide immediate medical assistance to jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny amid growing concerns over the state of his health.

Navalny’s incarceration set off a wave of national protests and a crackdown against his supporters.

The European Union, the United States, and Canada have imposed a series of sanctions against Russia over the Navalny case.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP