Lawyer Mikhail Biryukov said his client was moved after spending time in a cell at pretrial detention facility SIZO-4, known as "Medved," designed for 34 people but holding 35 inmates, where the toilet was a hole in the floor. Novaya Gazeta Europe and OVD-Info reported the transfer.
"Alexander is very touched by the support expressed to him in letters by various people, sometimes previously unfamiliar, and thanks everyone," Biryukov said, citing his client.
Kynev could not use the floor hole because of a plaster cast running from his thigh to his toes, and he stopped eating until conditions changed, according to the reports.
The Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) denied that Kynev had declared a hunger strike and said his detention conditions complied with the law. His lawyer clarified that the food refusal was due to his inability to use the toilet.
Kynev was detained on September 24 and sent to pretrial detention the next day on charges of large-scale drug distribution. He does not admit guilt. According to the Slovo Zashchite project, security forces beat the political scientist during his detention and broke his tibia in two places; the injuries may have resulted from torture.
Kynev spent some time in the hospital of Matrosskaya Tishina, and in mid-October was transferred to SIZO-4 Medved. On October 27, a Moscow court registered a protocol on violating the rules for the activities of a "foreign agent" against Kynev. In February, the Justice Ministry added him to the "foreign agents" register.