Condemned in Russia on charges of "Crimean terrorists" Olexandr Kolchenko has gone on a hunger strike. This is reported by Mediazona with reference to the information of Kolchenko's lawyer Andrey Liepiokhin.
According to the defender, Kolchenko announce the hunger strike on May 31. He does not have other demands, except for the release of Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov, convicted in Russia on false charges.
Oleh Sentsov and Olexandr Kolchenko were detained by representatives of Russian special services in the Crimea in May 2014 on charges of organizing terrorist attacks on the peninsula. In August 2015, the North Caucasus Military District Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Oleh Sentsov to 20 years in a colony with a strict regime on charges of terrorist activity in the territory of Crimea. Kolchenko received 10 years in prison. Both did not admit their guilt.
Sentsov is being kept in the Polar Bear prison in the town of Labytnangi. On May 14, 2018, the film director announced an indefinite hunger strike demanding the release of all Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia. The Ukrainian stated that either he would perish, or his demands would begin to be fulfilled. According to Sentsov's lawyer, he does not demand his own release.