Hunger strike in defence of Vasily Aleksanyan goes on in Rostov-on-Don

Human rights activist Raissa Grishechkina continues her hunger strike in support of fatally sick former vice-president of the YUKOS Company Vasily Aleksanyan in Rostov-on-Don. Now, Vasily Aleksanyan is under arrest in one of Moscow clinics.

Vasily Aleksanyan, who is accused of plunder and wide-scale money laundering is half-blind, he was diagnosed AIDS, tuberculosis and an oncology disease of the lymphatic system.

"I've lived through cancer myself and I was treated with chemotherapy. I know what a terrible condition it is. Holding a person in such condition in custody, without letting advocates and relatives to him, who could bring the required medicines, among other things, is a crime," Raissa Grishechkina said in her telephone interview to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Raissa Grishechkina is on her hunger strike from February 1 - now it is her 15th day. She said that the state of her health was satisfactory, but she had complains of weakness, jumps of arterial pressure and heart pain.

The remaining 14 participants of the hunger strike that was commenced on January 29 by Mikhail Khodorkovsky in Vasily Aleksanyan's defence stopped their action on February, 11, after the advocates of the sick prisoner had confirmed that their client was transferred from the investigatory prison into a civil clinic.

Nevertheless, the human rights activists think that the aims of the action have no been achieved completely. They demand that freedom restriction measure for the former YUKOS manager were replaced for the one not entailing imprisonment.