Alexei Navalny, who is Russian president Vladimir Putin’s most outspoken opponent, was arrested on January 17 upon his return from Germany.
ADVERTISEMENTJailed critic of the Russian government Alexei Navalny says he is going on a hunger strike.
The 44-year-old, who is Russian president Vladimir Putin’s most outspoken opponent, was arrested on January 17 upon his return from Germany.
He was returning from spending five months there recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin.
Russian authorities reject the accusation.
Last month, Navalny was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for violating the terms of his probation while convalescing in Germany.
Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, he said: "Every convict has the right to invite a specialist for examination and consultation.
"Even with me, even though I'm innocent.
"Therefore, I demand that a doctor be allowed to see me, and while this has not happened, I am going on a hunger strike."
Navalny claimed earlier this month his physical condition was worsening in prison and that prison authorities were refusing to allow his doctor to visit him.
In a letter he complained that hourly checks by a guard at night amounted to sleep deprivation torture.
Copies of his letters to penitentiary officials and Russia’s top prosecutor were posted on Navalny's website.
The sentence stems from a 2014 embezzlement conviction that Navalny has rejected as fabricated — and which the European Сourt of Human Rights has ruled to be unlawful.
“My condition has worsened. I feel acute pain in my right leg, and I feel numbness in its lower part,” Navalny wrote in one of the letters. “I have trouble walking.”