Summary
Actors Martin and Janet Sheen, John Cusack, and philosopher Slavoj Žižek have joined calls to end the solitary confinement of Russian activist Mikhail Kriger, who is reportedly in critical condition after more than a week on a dry hunger strike.
The celebrities signed an open letter to the head of Correctional Colony No. 5 in Russia’s Oryol region, urging authorities to end Kriger’s isolation. The 65-year-old activist began a hunger strike in late September and stopped taking both food and water last week after a canceled visit with his daughter.
The letter, published by Mediazona, warned that Kriger’s condition is deteriorating, describing his speech as “slowed” and his gaze “unfocused.” It said dry hunger strikes “quickly lead to shock and death.”
Shirley Manson, lead singer of Garbage, had earlier appealed to prison officials to release Kriger from isolation. The activist has accused authorities of deliberately cutting off his contact with other inmates.