The U.S. Department of State has called on the Russian authorities in Crimea to release Ukrainian political prisoner Volodymyr Balukh, who went on hunger strike 43 days ago, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert has said.
“Russian occupation authorities in Crimea should release political prisoner Volodymyr Balukh, who has been on hunger strike for 43 days. Unacceptable for Russia to jail a Ukrainian citizen for flying a Ukrainian flag in Crimea and deny him medical care,” she wrote on Twitter on May 2 evening.
As reported, Ukrainian farmer Balukh was arrested on December 8, 2016, in his house in the village of Serebrianka of Rozdolne district of Crimea temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation. Russian authorities charged him with possession of ammunition.
In January 2018, Crimea’s Rozdolne District Court sentenced Balukh to three years and seven months of imprisonment in a low-security penal colony and to a fine of 10,000 Russian rubles. Balukh’s defense team said the case was fabricated, and his verdict would be appealed in courts of higher instances.
Balukh has been on a hunger strike since March 19.
Doctors are not allowed to visit Balukh, according to Crimean human rights activists.
