Russian human rights activist meets with Oleg Sentsov, who says he's lost 37 pounds on hunger strike

On August 14, Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service allowed human rights activist Zoya Svetova to visit the imprisoned Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, who has been on a hunger strike since May 17. He’s currently being held at a prison colony in the town of Labytnangi, in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, serving out a 20-year sentence for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks in Crimea. Sentsov recently told his cousin that his health is “catastrophically bad,” but Russian prison officials insist that his life is in no danger.

According to MBKh Media, Sentsov told Svetova that he’s lost 17 kilograms (more than 37 pounds) since starting his hunger strike, though prison doctors reportedly told her that he’s shed only 11 kilograms (about 24 pounds). Svetova says Sentsov’s condition is apparently unstable, he is experiencing chest pains, and physicians are encouraging him to end his hunger strike, warning that it could lead to organ failure.