Alexei Navalny's Doctors Urge Him To "Immediately" End Hunger Strike

"If the hunger strike continues even a little longer, we will simply have no-one to treat soon," the physicians said

Alexei Navalny's private doctors on Thursday urged him to call off his hunger strike as soon as possible after the jailed Kremlin critic began refusing food three weeks ago. Cardiologist Yaroslav Ashikhmin and four more doctors said in a statement that they are asking President Vladimir Putin's most prominent domestic opponent "to immediately halt the hunger strike to preserve your life and health". "If the hunger strike continues even a little longer, we will simply have no-one to treat soon," the physicians said in the statement published by Mediazona, an independent Russian news website. On March 31, the 44-year-old opposition politician went on hunger strike to demand proper medical treatment for back pain and numbness in his legs and hands.