Navalny begins hunger strike until he receives proper medical attention

Top Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Wednesday announced that he has gone on a hunger strike until he gets proper medical help to treat his severe back pain and numbness in his legs. 

Navalny, in an Instagram post on Wednesday, said the back pain that had numbed his right leg is now causing his left one to lose sensitivity too. 

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"I have gone on a hunger strike demanding that the law be obeyed and that a visiting doctor be allowed to visit me," the post said. 

Last week, Navalny, who is serving a 2.5-year prison sentence said he was suffering from a pinched nerve that had led his right leg to go numb. 

He also said that guards wake him eight times every night to keep a check on him and he has to say to a recording camera that he is still in his cell. 

In his post on Wednesday, Navalny said that instead of receiving medical attention, he was persistently "tortured with sleep deprivation". 

Also read | Kremlin critic Navalny says he risks solitary confinement over infractions

Russia's prison authority last week said that Navalny's health was in "satisfactory" condition after his lawyers and allies complained about his worsening well-being. 

"According to the results of the examination, his state of health was assessed as stable and satisfactory," the prison service told Russian news agencies. 

Navalny is currently serving a 2.5 years sentence on old embezzlement charges and was detained in January after returning to Russia from Germany.