21:14, 25 March 2019

Pavel Grib declares going on hunger strike

Pavel Grib. Photo by Konstantin Volgin for the Caucasian Knot

A hunger strike of Pavel Grib, a citizen of Ukraine, sentenced to six years of imprisonment on the charge of incitement to a terror act, will be held in a separate cell with video surveillance, reports today the chairman of the Public Oversight Commission for the Rostov Region.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 22, in Rostov-on-Don, a court found Pavel Grib guilty of inciting a terror act in a Sochi school and sentenced him to six years in prison. It was reported that Pavel Grib went on hunger strike after the sentence had been pronounced. Members of the Public Oversight Commission for the Rostov Region, who visited Pavel Grib on March 23, reported that he was refusing prison food, and was not on hunger strike, but ate his own food.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine has protested against the sentence to Grib and demanded to return him to his homeland. The term in the colony threatens his life, said Lyudmila Denisova, the Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine.

"In the morning on March 25, Pavel Grib officially handed over his letter to the administration of the SIZO (pre-trial prison) No. 4 with a notification on the beginning of his hunger strike. He will be now transferred to a separate cell for video surveillance and constant monitoring of doctors," said Leonid Petrashis, the chairman of the Public Oversight Commission for the Rostov Region. If the Pavel Grib's health state worsens, he will be transferred to the interregional prison hospital in Rostov-on-Don, Leinod Petrashis reports.

According to him, Pavel Grib went on hunger strike with a request for additional medical examination with the engagement of independent medical experts from Ukraine and Ukrainian Ombudsperson Lyudmila Denisova, the TASS reports today.

Pavel Grib went on hunger strike in order to be provided with at least minimal medical care, his father Igor Grib reported. Pavel Grib suffers from an incurable congenital disease, and he needs to constantly take medications and follow a strict diet, the "Direct" Ukrainian TV Channel reports on its website today.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 25, 2019 at 04:04 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.