Mikhail Kriger, a jailed Russian opposition activist, has initiated a dry hunger strike in response to his recurrent isolation in solitary confinement, as reported by his supporters.
The 65-year-old is currently serving a seven-year sentence at Correctional Colony No. 5 in the Oryol region. He began his hunger strike on September 25 and escalated to a dry hunger strike—abstaining from both food and water—starting Friday, after a scheduled visit from his daughter was unexpectedly called off.
“The final straw that prompted his hunger strike was the cancellation of our visit by the prison officials. I urged him to eat, but anyone who knows my father understands that convincing him is futile,” his daughter, Katya Kriger, wrote in a Facebook post on Friday.
Kriger has expressed concerns that prison authorities are intentionally isolating him to limit his interactions with fellow inmates.
According to his support team, the prison management has indicated that he will be taken to the medical unit and may be force-fed if his health deteriorates significantly. He is currently being examined by a doctor twice a day.
In 2023, Kriger was sentenced to seven years in prison due to anti-Kremlin posts on social media, which prosecutors claimed “glorified terrorism” and “incited hatred.” He has consistently criticized the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine and stated during his trial that he is being “persecuted” for his “anti-war and openly pro-Ukrainian stance.”
The Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights organization Memorial has classified Kriger as a political prisoner.
The anti-Kremlin activist group Pussy Riot has raised concerns over Kriger’s hunger strike, urging their followers to send letters to both him and the prison authorities.
Shirley Manson, lead singer of the band Garbage, has publicly appealed to the head of the prison to cease Kriger’s solitary confinement, describing his hunger strike as “a desperate measure by a man denied humane treatment and essential human contact.”
“I implore you, as someone with influence and a sense of morality, to immediately end his isolation and allow him to serve his sentence among the general inmate population,” Manson stated.
Additionally, Kriger’s nephew, 24-year-old journalist Artyom Kriger, is also serving a 5.5-year prison sentence on “extremism” charges linked to alleged connections with the deceased opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Artyom Kriger, along with three other journalists, faced accusations of “gathering, preparing, and editing videos” for Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation and his Navalny LIVE YouTube channel. His employer, the independent news outlet SOTAVision, has consistently denied these claims, asserting that he has never been affiliated with Navalny’s organizations.
The Memorial group has similarly classified Artyom Kriger as a political prisoner.
