Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Wednesday
announced that he has started a hunger strike until he receives proper medical treatment
for a severe back ailment and a numb feeling in his legs, AFP reported. The politician
who is currently serving a 2.5-year sentence, had also talked about the leg
issue last week.

Navalny, who has been sentenced to one of Russia’s most notorious
penal colonies, said earlier that a pinched nerve was causing his right leg to
continuously go numb.

Also read: Alexei Navalny compares prison routine to that of Star Wars’ ‘stormtrooper’

An Instagram post on Wednesday noted that the same problem
had started occurring in his left leg too, as the limb was starting to lose
sensitivity.

“I have gone on a hunger strike demanding that the law
be obeyed and that a visiting doctor be allowed to visit me,” Navalny was
quoted by AFP as saying.

The leader appears to have been facing various issues inside
the prison system.

Also read: Alexei Navalny claims he is being ‘tortured’ through sleep deprivation

He had said last week that he had been woken up by prison
guards eight times per night, who announced to a camera that he was still in
his cell, further noting that he was being “tortured with sleep deprivation”, as
being further quoted by AFP.

His arrest came after his return from Germany, where he had
been going through treatment from a nerve gas attack.