Russia has ordered a prisoner to pay his medical costs after he went on hunger strike over jail conditions, his lawyer said Monday, a move that could curb protests against poor treatment of convicts.
The prison service is forcing Andrei Krekov, 36, a lawyer from the northwestern Arkhangelsk region, to cover costs of some 50,000 rubles ($870) resulting from a 27-day hunger strike last year.
Prisoners in Russia have little recourse to draw attention to abuses and often resort to hunger strikes as a way of highlighting their plight.
High-profile detainees in Russian jails who have held hunger strikes include the Pussy Riot …read more
Source: African news network 7
