Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny ends hunger strike

Alexei Navalny has said he is ending his hunger strike after getting medical attention and being warned by his doctors that continuing it would be lifethreatening.

In an Instagram post on Friday afternoon, the 24th day of his hunger strike, the imprisoned Russian opposition leader said he would continue to demand a visit from his doctor to address a loss of sensation in his legs and arms – his main demand when launching his hunger strike.

But he said he would stop refusing food after getting examined by nonprison doctors. He also acknowledged the mass pro-Navalny protests across Russia on Wednesday.

“Thanks to the huge support of good people across the country and around the world, we have made huge progress,” Navalny said in his message.

Another reason he was ending the hunger strike he began on 31 March was that some of his supporters were refusing to eat in a show of solidarity with him, Navalny said.

“Tears flowed from my eyes when I read that. God, I’m not even acquainted with these people, and they do this for me. Friends, my heart is full of love and gratitude for you, but I don’t want anyone physically suffering because of me,” said the 44-year-old politician, who is Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic.

Navalny began the hunger strike to protest against prison authorities’ refusal to let his doctors visit after he developed severe back pain and numbness in his legs.

Officials insisted Navalny was getting the medical help he needed, but Navalny said he had in effect received no treatment.

On Wednesday night, a further round of mass protests demanding his freedom swept across Russia. A top aide said Wednesday night’s protests seemed to have brought a compromise from Russian authorities on getting Navalny the medical help he had demanded when launching the hunger strike.

Navalny was arrested in January upon his return from Germany, where he had spent five months recovering from a nerve agent poisoning he blames on the Kremlin – accusations Russian officials reject.

Photograph: Moscow City Court press service/AFP/Getty Images Alexei Navalny during a court hearing in Moscow in February. He began his hunger strike on 31 March.