A jailed member of the Russian punk group Pussy Riot has ended her nine-day hunger strike but could resume if she is not transferred to a different labor camp, the Guardian reports.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova began the strike last month after stating in an open letter that prisoners at the camp worked longer daily hours than the legal maximum and were underpaid. She also claims that the prison’s deputy chief threatened to murder her.
Tolokonnikova is now receiving food through a drip after being moved to a prison hospital. It remains unclear whether she will be transferred to a different facility.
Members of the Russian Presidential Human Rights Council have published a report confirming several of her claims:
But even after conducting interviews with dozens of prison inmates, members of the council stopped short of recommending a criminal investigation into conditions at the site. They also suggested that instead of transferring Tolokonnikova to a different penal colony, she could be moved to a different division within the same site.
Nevertheless, RIA Novosti reported that Tolokonnikova's lawyer, Dmitry Dinze, has moved ahead with his request that Mordovian prosecutors open a case against prison administrators: Tolokonnikova alleges that, among other offences, the colony's deputy chief threatened to murder her. Authorities have denied all allegations.
Tolokonnikova and the other imprisoned group member, Maria Alyokhina, have been denied early parole and are scheduled to be released in March 2014.