NEW DELHI, July 8 (Xinhua) -- A Russian prisoner lodged in a high-security prison in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand has started a hunger strike in protest against his arrest, officials said Saturday.
Sergei was arrested earlier this month by police in Uttarakhand for staying in this country for several years without a valid passport and visa.
"The Russian prisoner is on a hunger strike and has been shifted to a state-run hospital from his cell after his condition worsened. He has been lodged in the state's Tehri jail since July 2, a day after his arrest," a senior official said, on condition of anonymity.
Doctors, who are monitoring his health, told the media that Sergei has threatened to end his life if he is force-fed. "He is critical but out of danger," a doctor said.
He has been booked under the Indian Passport Act, which entails up to two years in jail for foreigners living without passports in this country, the police official said.
