Stanislav Zimovets voices reasons for his hunger strike in Volzhsky penal colony

Stanislav Zimovets, a resident of the city of Volzhsky, sentenced for using violence against a policeman during a protest action, has been on the hunger strike since May 14. He demands to release political prisoners, his advocate reports today.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in July 2017, the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow found Stanislav Zimovets, a resident of Volzhsky, guilty of using violence against a policeman on a rally held by supporters of oppositionist Alexei Navalny in Moscow on March 26. Stanislav Zimovets was sentenced to 2.5 years of imprisonment. The Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" recognized Stanislav Zimovets as a political prisoner.

Today, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has been informed by advocate Svetlana Sidorkina that on May 14, Stanislav Zimovets went on hunger strike in the Volzhsky penal colony. "He demands to release political prisoners and, in particular, Oleg Sentsov," the advocate explained.

According to Svetlana Sidorkina, Stanislav Zimovets is to be released on July 2.

In his letter addressed to the acting head of the federal public institution IK-12 of the Department for the Volgograd Region of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (known as FSIN) (a copy of the letter was received by the "Caucasian Knot"), Stanislav Zimovets declared that on May 14, he went on an "indefinite hunger strike because of a systematic violation of human rights and freedoms in the Russian Federation, and also as a sign of solidarity with Ukrainian and Russian political prisoners, including film director Oleg Sentsov."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 23, 2019 at 11:31 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.