Moscow: The imprisoned Russian pianist and anti-war activist Pavel Kushnir has died in a detention centre in Birobidzhan in the far east of the country, according to human rights activists.
The 39-year-old succumbed to the effects of a hunger strike, the Russian civil rights portal OVD-Info reported on Saturday.
In Germany, the pianist Olga Shkrygunova, a long-time acquaintance of Kushnir, confirmed his death on Facebook on Saturday. The artist worked at the Philharmonic Orchestra in Birobidzhan and was arrested at the end of May on charges of extremism, according to reports.
Kushnir had made no secret of his stance against the Russian invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, had written a book against the war and operated a small YouTube channel with anti-fascist manifestos. Journalist and human rights activist Olga Romanova reported that Kushnir had also refused to drink during his hunger strike. (DPA)
