Jailed in Russia, Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is in poor health, according to his lawyer, and has lost more than eight kilos in just two weeks. Navalny suffers from “an unknown disease that nobody treats,” lawyer Vadim Kobsev wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
An ambulance was called to his cell on Saturday night because his stomach condition had worsened, the lawyer explained. According to his medical file, Navalny has lost eight kilos in the past two weeks, he added. Medicines sent by Navalny’s mother would be “sent back to her”.
Kobsev also wrote on Twitter that he did not rule out that Navalny, who barely survived an assassination attempt with the neurotoxin “Novichok” in 2020, would now be made sick again in a targeted manner. He therefore demands a toxicological and radiological examination of his client. “That may sound like nonsense and paranoia to others, but not to Navalny after Novichok,” explained the lawyer. Navalny himself blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the attack on him. The Kremlin rejected this.
Earlier this year, Navalny said he had flu symptoms and lacked adequate access to medical care. His supporters then expressed fears that the Kremlin was trying to slowly kill him. From prison, Navalny has frequently criticized the Russian offensive in Ukraine and called on the Russians to protest against the government.
For more than two years, Navalny has been in particularly harsh prison conditions in a penal camp about 260 kilometers northeast of Moscow. He was sentenced by a Russian court for alleged fraud, but internationally the prominent opponent of Putin is considered a political prisoner. In the past few months, he has repeatedly been transferred to a small solitary cell, where he has repeatedly complained of health problems.
Despite the complaints of his lawyer, Navalny was again transferred to a solitary cell. On Friday he only got out of solitary confinement and was sent there for a further 15 days on Monday, said the opposition politician’s team on Tuesday evening on his Telegram channel. He was also confronted with further harassment.
For example, Navalny’s daily exit from the narrow prison courtyard was moved to 7 a.m. – “that’s important because if you’re lucky, you can stand in the sun square on a walk during the day.” According to the information, there are also new restrictions on buying food and writing letters from Navalny.
The 46-year-old sees his new solitary confinement as punishment for investigating corruption in the prison authorities. The Anti-Corruption Fund (FBK), managed by Navalny, had previously published an article about the overpriced purchase of food in Russian prisons.
