August 26, 2005

Russia's Khodorkovsky Ends Hunger Strike – Lawyer

Jailed Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has ended a nearly week-long hunger strike after hearing that his business partner Platon Lebedev has been transferred from solitary confinement to a regular cell, Khodorkovsky's lawyer said. His attorney Anton Drel said that Khodorkovsky ended the hunger strike on August 25 after learning about Lebedev's transfer from the evening news. He had begun the strike Aug. 19 to protest when prison authorities moved Lebedev to a tiny isolation cell. Drel said Khodorkovsky was feeling "not so well" and needed time to return to normal eating and drinking habits after refusing food and water for nearly a week.

(Source: Dow Jones International News. A similar story was reported by the Associated Press and by Reuters.)