Imprisoned Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov ends hunger strike

Imprisoned Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence in Russia on a terrorism conviction, ended his hunger strike after 145 days.

Sentsov went on a hunger strike on May 14, demanding the release of all Ukrainian political prisoners currently serving their sentences in Russia.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Valery Maksimenko, the deputy director of Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) unveiled the news, saying, "Yes, he stopped his hunger strike. Moscow's best nutritionists have prepared a special diet for him to come out of the hunger strike."

"Our doctors, our specialists persuaded him, and he chose life," Maksimenko added, referring to prison doctors.

However, the Russian authorities have ignored his demands.

During the strike, Sentsov's health was severely deteriorated, and he suffered from cardiac insufficiency, as well as liver and kidney diseases.

Many filmmakers and actors like Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, Volker Schlondorff and Wim Wenders, Johnny Depp and Isabelle Huppert, have called for Sentsov's release.