Political prisoner Darya Polyudova, serving her sentence in Correctional Colony No. 8 in Kostroma, has declared a hunger strike. She is drinking only water. This decision is due to the pressure she is facing in the prison colony.

Polyudova has already received six verbal reprimands and a disciplinary fine and fears being transferred to a punishment cell, and then to strict conditions. She also claims that her belongings have been stolen and that her communication with her lawyer has been obstructed. The activist previously reported being harassed by other prisoners because of her political stance. In August, she was attacked.

Polyudova has previously reported being beaten by fellow inmates and pressured by the prison administration. In 2023, she went on a hunger strike after being placed in a punishment cell, and was subsequently placed in strict conditions, resulting in a prolonged period of incommunicado detention.

In 2022, Darya Polyudova was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of inciting extremism and creating an extremist group. Her sentence also included a previous conviction: in 2021, a court found her guilty of publicly justifying terrorism for a post about Chechen field commanders Shamil Basayev and Aslan Maskhadov.