 Source: HRO.org (info) On 1 June Pussy Riot member Maria Alekhina ended her hunger strike, civil society activist Petr Verzilov has reported on Twitter. On the 11th day of her hunger strike Alekhina ended her protest when she was told that the penal colony administration had met her demands. "Literally one hour ago the administration of the colony where Maria is held organized for her a special kind of excursion, demonstrating that her demands had been met and the locks on the buildings where the prisoners were working had been removed,” Verzilov told Interfax. It also became known that on Saturday Alekhina lodged an appeal with Perm region court against the decision by Berezniki town court to reject her request for parole, Grani.ru reports. Alekhina had demanded that before she ended her hunger strike the locks should be removed from buildings where the prisoners were working, and also that the increased security imposed on prisoners movements should be stepped down. On Tuesday Alekhina was placed in a medical facility where a doctor with her consent began to give her glucose injections. On Friday Alekhina had again refused the injections. It was also reported that on Friday a commission from the Federal Penitentiary Service inspected the penal colony. On Tuesday a member of Perm region's Public Oversight Commission, Igor Averkiev, stated after visiting Penal Colony No. 28 that Alekhina was feeling quite well. “It is possible that they will take her back to her section since she is well, she is OK. Her hunger strike has not affected her very badly, there has been no deterioration in her health. All the more so since this has been a limited hunger strike after all: they have given her injections of glucose with her consent,” Averkiev said. On Monday the Federal Penitentiary Service also stated that Alekhina was feeling well. “Alekhina is refusing to take food where all the other prisoners eat, in the dining room. Her health is OK, a doctor is checking her several times a day. She has the opportunity to eat food, but she refuses to eat with the others. I cannot say if she is eating in other places,” said a spokesman for the Pentitentiary Service. Alekhina has accused the administration of Penal Colony No. 28 of provocative actions intended to make the other prisoners resent her. About one month ago the schedule was changed at the training centre where Alekhina was studying. Later the penal colony administration put locks on all the barracks of three sections so that prisoners were not able to go outside except under guard. At the same time they began to keep Alekhina, a political prisoner, under guard whenever she was moving around the colony. This was the way, Alekhina said, the staff at the colony had acted in November 2012 when she had just arrived at the penal colony. On 23 May the Berezniki town court refused Alekhina’s request for parole. The court ruled that Alekhina should not be brought to the court to take part in the hearing in person, and in protest Alekhina went on hunger strike. When she requested that she should attend the hearing in person, speaking via video link Alekhina accused the colony’s administration of putting pressure on her. Alekhina forbade her lawyers to take part in the parole hearing. The judge appointed a lawyer to represent Alekhina despite the objections of Alekhina’s own lawyers, the prosecutor and the state-appointed lawyer himself. Letters in support of parole for Alekhina were addressed to the court by the priest Aleksii Uminsky, and the musicians Peter Gabriel and Patti Smith. Paul McCartney also wrote a letter in support of Alekhina and the other Pussy Riot member, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, who was also sentenced to serve two years in prison for the ‘punk prayer’ at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. |
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