Alexey Navalny ends 24-day hunger strike

According to Anastasia Vasilyeva, Navalny's attending physician, on April 20, civilian doctors visited Alexey Navalny. After examining the politician, they said that he must immediately end the hunger strike in order to preserve his life and health.

“Frankly, their words that the analyzes show: “in a minimum time there will be no one to treat”… mmm… seem to me worthy of attention”, - Navalny commented on the situation on Instagram.

He thanked all his supporters who, through their actions, helped him to achieve adequate medical care.

“With the tremendous support of good people across the country and around the world, we have made tremendous progress. Two months ago, they smirked at my requests for medical assistance, they did not give any medicines and did not allow them to be transferred. A month ago, they laughed in my face at phrases like: “Can I find out my diagnosis?” And “Can I see my own medical record?”. Thank you - now I have been examined twice by a council of civilian doctors. The last time was right before the rally. They do research and analyzes and give me the results and conclusions”, - the politician said.

Navalny added that doctors, whom he fully trusts, issued a statement on April 22 that they had achieved enough together to get Navalny to lift the hunger strike.

By no means the last argument that became decisive for the politician when ending the hunger strike was the fact that, in solidarity with Navalny, several different people started the hunger strike, including representatives of the Mothers of Beslan.

“I got tears from my eyes when I read this. Lord, I don’t even know these people, but they go to this for me. Friends, my heart is full of love and gratitude for you, but I do not want anyone to experience physical suffering because of me”, - he explained.

According to Navalny, he will continue to demand that the necessary doctor be admitted to him, because, while in prison, he lost the sensitivity of the parts of his arms and legs. Navalny said that he wanted to understand “what it is and how to treat it,” but taking into account the progress achieved and all the circumstances, he decided to start a way out of the hunger strike. Doctors warned that it would take at least 24 days to get back to normal.

Alexei Navalny was put on the wanted list at the end of last year for multiple violations of the conditions of serving his sentence in the Yves Rocher case, the initiation of which was recognized by the ECHR as politically motivated.

The defense of Alexey Navalny appealed to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in February after the decision of the ECHR in the Yves Rocher case was not enforced in Russia.

At the same time, at this time he was being treated in Germany after poisoning. He was detained on January 17 at the Moscow Sheremetyevo airport while returning to Russia; on February 2, a court in Moscow decided to replace his suspended sentence with a real one. After a while, Alexei Navalny ended up in colony no. 2 in the Vladimir region, where his health deteriorated.

On April 22, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) called on Russia at the current session to release Navalny by early June, and before that to ensure proper care of his health while he is in the colony.