Russia denies death of Ukrainian citizen Artur Panov

Consulate General of Ukraine in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, says Ukrainian political prisoner Artur Panov is alive.

Censor.NET reports citing UNIAN.

The pretrial detention facility disproved earlier reports by Russian media that Panov had died in prison.

"We have called Russian state bodies. The penal service and the prison authorities said Panov was alive and well," the diplomat said.

Earlier, Russian media reported that Ukrainian citizen Panov, charged with terrorism in Russia, died in pretrial detention center in Rostov due to cardiac failure.

The trial over Panov started on Feb. 14 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. In the case, Panov was joined by a Rostov student charged with assistance to the Ukrainian's terrorist activities.

The Russian side says Panov was detained in early 2015 in the Rostov region after he crossed Ukraine-Russia border from occupied Luhansk with an alleged purpose of committing a terrorist attack in Russia. The investigation says he had an explosive device with him. They say he was planning a terrorist attack in Gorky theater in Rostov and confirm it by his blog posts of manifests by German leftist group RAF.

As the moment of his detention, Panov was underage (less than 18 years old). During his detention, Panov went on hunger strikes numerous times, which might have led to health deterioration, the medium reported.