Lawyers and the family of a former U.S. Marine who is in prison for assaulting police officers in Moscow says he has begun a hunger strike to protest his detention and human rights abuses behind bars, a claim Russian officials have denied.

Trevor Reed, a 29-year-old from Texas, was convicted in July and sentenced to nine years in prison for an altercation in August, 2019 in Moscow, where he was studying Russian and visiting his girlfriend.

He allegedly assaulted police officers who were driving him to a police station after picking him up following a night of heavy drinking at a party.

His lawyers told the Interfax news agency that he has been on a hunger strike since last Thursday.

But Russia's state penitentiary service denied the claim Tuesday and insisted that Reed was eating, quote, "in accordance with the daily schedule."

The United States on Tuesday condemned arrests based on ethnicity in Ethiopia after the detentions of U.N. staff reportedly from the Tigrayan community.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters, quote, "Security force harassment and detention on the basis of ethnicity is completely unacceptable."

The detentions come as U.S. envoy Jeffrey Feltman visits Ethiopia as he seeks to back efforts for an immediate cease-fire in the intensifying year-long support.

The United States again voiced hope for efforts led by a former Nigerian president, who is serving as an envoy by the African Union.

The envoy has, quote, "spoken to this window of opportunity that he believes -- and, in turn, we believe -- does exist and continues to exist," according to Price.

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