Pavel Grib stops his hunger strike in SIZO

Pavel Grib, a Ukrainian citizen, found guilty by the court of incitement to terror act, has stopped his protest action in order to avoid deterioration of his health, the head of the Public Oversight Commission (POC) of the Rostov Region has informed today.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 22, a court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Pavel Grib to six years in prison. On March 25, he handed over his official statement to bosses of his SIZO (pre-trial prison) No. 4 that he went on a hunger strike.

"On March 29, Grib, after an explanatory talk about a possible deterioration of his health, conducted by SIZO bosses, wrote a statement about termination of his hunger strike," said Leonid Petrashis, the head of the Rostov regional POC.

According to Mr Petrashis, Grib was examined by doctors of the Interregional Hospital No. 19 of the FSIN (Russian Federal Penitentiary Service), who concluded that he needs no operative treatment and can be kept in custody, the TASS reports.

Earlier, the "Caucasian Knot" reported that the defence had appealed against Pavel Grib's sentence. The verdict was criticized by European diplomats, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine expressed its "strong protest." The convoying and keeping Pavel Grib in colony threaten his life, Lyudmila Denisova, the Ombudsperson of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine, has warned.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 30, 2019 at 03:15 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.