Sochi: Russian officer stops his protest hunger strike

On July 22 in Sochi, Rank III Captain Evgeniy Tsapko, a serviceman of the Military Unit 2159, stopped his protest hunger strike that he conducted since June 22, because of a sharp aggravation of his health condition.

We remind you that the Russian Army officer went on hunger strike in protest against initiation of a criminal case against him and his colleagues under the articles of "Desertion" and "Self-willed quit of service". The case against Evgeniy Tsapko was opened after he had demanded enforcement of the court ruling about giving him a flat.

Now, at his height of 178 cm the officer weighs only 56 kg, and his arterial pressure does not exceed 100/80. Evgeniy moves with difficulty, feels bad at heat; he can't even read because of his weakness. However, he refuses from hospitalization, and this week he was released by his therapist from execution of his official duties, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Evgeniy decided that now his primary goal is to survive and restore the functionality of his exhausted organism, in order to be able to go on struggling for his rights, as neither his command, nor the prosecutor's office gave any reaction to his hunger strike. On the contrary, according to Mr Tsapko, the commander of his unit Rank I Captain V. A. Koblov tried by all means to conceal the fact of his hunger strike from higher commanders and threatened to open a criminal case for self-mutilation.

According to Evgeniy, now bosses of his military unit are persecuting those his colleagues who had told the investigation and the court that he did not run away, did not disappear and executed all the orders given to him.

The exhausted officer addressed the media and said that he was trying to draw attention of the public to the "absurd and awful situation when the officer, who served his country all his life, instead of duly deserved apartment and pension has a chance to get a prison term and a plank bed."