"I have started a dry hunger strike to support my friend Platon Lebedev."

On August 19, 2005, the anniversary of the GKChP (State Emergency Committee) failed coup, my close friend Platon Lebedev was transferred to a 3 square meter isolation ward.

This act of repression was formally linked to Lebedev’s refusal to take a daily walk, but everyone understands it was a mere pretext. Platon is seriously ill and he has not been able to go out into the exercise yard for more than a year. Obviously, my friend has been flung into an isolation ward as a revenge on me, convict Mikhail Khodorkovsky, for my articles and interviews.

Let the Kremlin think they are demonstrating their power. This is an act of weakness in fact. As they cannot engage in an open political discussion with me, they are resorting to their only remaining weapon – isolation wards and group cells.

I have started a dry hunger strike to support my friend Platon Lebedev. He knows he is not alone. Each countryman of mine whose heart beats with passion for freedom and fairness must know: we stand together.