Jailed Kremlin critic Navalny goes on hunger strike

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny went on hunger strike on Wednesday to push for proper medical care for what he said was acute pain in his back and legs.

Navalny's team posted on social media his handwritten letter addressed to the governor of his prison.

It said his daily requests to be seen by a doctor of his choice and to receive proper medicine had been ignored.

Navalny wrote in the letter:

"I demand that a doctor be allowed to see me, and until this happens, I am declaring a hunger strike."

Last week, Navalny accused the guards of “torturing” him through sleep deprivation.

One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most outspoken critics, Navalny was jailed last month for two and a half years for violating parole.

A charge he called politically motivated.

He was arrested in January on his return to Russia from Germany, where he had been recovering from what doctors said was a nerve agent poisoning.

He's being held at the notorious IK-2 corrective penal colony 60 miles east of Moscow.

Prison authorities, after examining Navalny last week, declared his condition to be stable and satisfactory.

The Kremlin has declined to comment on Navalny's health, saying it's a matter for the prison.

Medical professionals over the weekend published an open letter demanding the 44-year-old politician get proper care.

Meanwhile, Navalny’s team is planning what they hope will be Russia’s largest protests for his release.