Kremlin spokesman declines to comment on Navalny’s hunger strike

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov has declined to comment on opposition politician Alexey Navalny going on hunger strike to protest the conditions of his imprisonment.

Asked about Navalny’s hunger strike during his daily press briefing on Thursday, April 1, Peskov told journalists, “No comment.” The Kremlin spokesman added that this topic “isn’t an issue on the agenda of the head of state in any way.”

On the topic of problems with the provision of medical treatment in Russian prisons, Peskov said the following:

“We have human rights and public organizations that monitor the state of affairs in FSIN [Federal Penitentiary Service] facilities. They formulate questions, they formulate proposals, [and] in liaison with the authorities, they, in fact, deal with these proposals that they formulate. All special cases are subject to consideration by the FSIN and the relevant subunits, and are in now way subject for our comments.”

• On March 31, Alexey Navalny, who is serving time in a penal colony in the city of Pokrov in the Vladimir region, announced a hunger strike on the grounds that he is being denied medical care. Earlier, the opposition politician complained of pain in his back and legs. FSIN officials in the Vladimir region maintained that Navalny is receiving the necessary assistance “in accordance with his current medical conditions.”