Anna Sotsenko, 71, on day 43 of hunger strike in Simferopol remand prison

Anna Sotsenko, a resident of occupied Crimea, continues the hunger strike she began on 1 September, her letters to volunteers show.

On 11 October, Anna wrote that she had been on hunger strike for 41 days and was ‘feeling fine in the circumstances’.

Anna Sotsenko, Evelina Melnychuk and Sakha Manhubi, who share a cell in Simferopol remand prison, announced the hunger strike on 1 September. All three are from Crimea and are being held on charges of high treason (Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code). The women demanded medical examinations and the return of belongings that prison staff had removed from their parcels. Evelina Melnychuk said she had not been given an ECG or the valerian and vitamins from her parcel.

Evelina Melnychuk and Sakha Manhubi have since ended their hunger strike without securing any of their demands.