Nadezhda Tolokonnikova's lawyers sent a letter to the United Nations on Monday, asking for a review of the prison conditions that the incarcerated Pussy Riot activist began protesting against last week with a hunger strike.
The activist's lawyers asked Gulnara Shahinian, the UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, to request information about Tolokonnikova's condition from the Russian government and, if necessary, to recommend that the state stop its system of compulsory labor, Lenta.ru reported.
Her lawyers also appealed to the European Court of Human Rights over the matter, and asked the Investigative Committee to file charges against the prison's administration.
Tolokonnikova was transferred Sunday from solitary confinement to a hospital on the recommendation of her doctor, a representative of the Federal Prison Service told Itar-Tass.
At that time, the representative said her condition was satisfactory, but soon after, both her husband and her lawyers complained of being unable to reach her.
When the activist's husband went to see her in the hospital Monday, he was denied entrance and not even permitted to speak with her by phone, Interfax reported.
"[The head of the hospital] says Nadya's condition is so bad that her legal representatives and spouse cannot be there or communicate with her," Tolokonnikova's husband Pyotr Verzilov said, calling the situation a "blockade."
As of noon Monday, neither he nor her lawyer had received any updates on Tolokonnikova's condition for more than 85 hours, Verzilov said.
Soon after Verzilov's complaints, the Federal Prison Service on Monday released a statement saying Tolokonnikova had been refused visitors because she was receiving medical care and thus could only be seen by doctors.
Tolokonnikova entered her seventh day of the hunger strike Monday.
In the letter in which she announced her hunger strike last Monday, Tolokonnikova repeatedly referred to the camp's work regime as "slave labor," describing 17-hour work days and immense production quotas.
"I will not sit silently, looking without complaint as people in the colony drop in their tracks from these slavery-like conditions," wrote the Pussy Riot member, who was sentenced to a two-year prison term in 2012 for performing an anti-Putin punk song in Christ the Savior Cathedral.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
