"They are not in the best of ways," Sam Konkin said of Mary Braun and Tina Zmaeff. "It is very sad."

In the last 16 months in prison, Zmaeff has gone without food at least 210 days, while Braun has fasted at least 195 days. And that has Konkin fearing their health is not stable enough to withstand another long strike.

Last March, both Zmaeff and Braun were paroled on the 47th day of another hunger strike. Word of their parole came from Ottawa, despite a ruling against parole by the regional parole board two days earlier.

Two Freedomite Doukhobor women serving a jail term for arson are in the 16th day of a hunger strike and a friend of the pair is worried about how long they will be able to hold out.

"They are not in the best of ways," Sam Konkin said of Mary Braun and Tina Zmaeff. "It is very sad."

Both women are in Matsqui Institution after their latest six-month conviction in September for setting a fire in the Doukhobor Heritage Centre in Grand Forks.

(Sons of Freedom Doukhobors, who now number about 50 in B.C., consider fire to be a spiritual cleanser and they believe God instructs them to burn down opulent buildings.)

Konkin visited Braun, 66, and Zmaeff, 62, Sunday and said they are determined not to eat until they are freed from prison.

"They are very strong-willed," Konkin said. "While they are good spiritually, they are not so good physically."

While they got just six months in September, both were on parole from an eight-year sentence for arson and fear they will be behind bars for years.

"Right now, rather than serve eight years, they would rather die," Konkin said the women told him Sunday.

In the last 16 months in prison, Zmaeff has gone without food at least 210 days, while Braun has fasted at least 195 days. And that has Konkin fearing their health is not stable enough to withstand another long strike.

Corrections Canada spokesman Dianne Brown said both women started their lastest hunger strike Feb. 1, though she said they are still in fairly good health and are not confined to their beds.

"They are mobile and alert," Brown said. Asked if the pair have given any reason for their latest fast, Brown said: "They say they want their freedom."

Last March, both Zmaeff and Braun were paroled on the 47th day of another hunger strike. Word of their parole came from Ottawa, despite a ruling against parole by the regional parole board two days earlier.

In 1983 while serving previous sentences for arson, the two women were pardoned, but they committed arson again when they returned to the community.