Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny said on Friday he would begin gradually ending a hunger strike that he declared in prison on March 31 to demand proper medical care for leg and back pain.
In an Instagram post, the fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin said that he still demanded that he be seen by a doctor of his own choosing and that he was losing feeling in parts of his legs and arms.
He said, however, that he had been twice seen by civilian doctors. He added it would take him 24 days to gradually end the hunger strike and thanked the "good people" in Russia and around the world for their support.