Russia denies hunger-striking Ukrainian critically ill
KIEV, Ukraine — The family of an imprisoned Ukrainian filmmaker who has been on a hunger strike for 100 days said on Tuesday he is in critical condition, a claim that a Russian official quickly denied.
Oleg Sentsov, a native of the Russia-annexed Crimea Peninsula, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2015 for conspiracy to commit terrorism. His supporters call the prosecution of Sentsov, who staunchly opposed the annexation, politically motivated.
Sentsov’s sister, Natalya Kaplan, told The Associated Press that Sentsov is in intensive care in critical condition. She said, however, that the family doesn’t have full information about his health.
Russia’s prison system has been contradicting claims about the filmmaker’s worsening condition, saying that he’s been given nutritional supplements.