Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny suffering from acute pain in prison, allies fear for his life: lawyer
- Olga Mikhailova said Navalny’s right leg was in ‘an awful condition’ after visiting the activist in prison
- Navalny’s wife called for her husband to be immediately released so that he could be treated by doctors he trusts
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Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is in great pain, his lawyer said on Thursday after visiting him in prison, adding that allies feared for his life.
“He is suffering from strong back pain and pain in his right leg,” lawyer Olga Mikhailova said in remarks on Dozhd television, adding that his condition was “extremely unfavourable”.
“Everyone is afraid for his life and health.”
Navalny was jailed earlier this year after returning to Russia from Germany where he had been treated for a near-fatal poisoning with Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent.
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Mikhailova said his right leg was in “an awful condition” and he had been in pain for the past four weeks.
“He is losing sensation in his shin, he can’t use his leg,” she added.
Mikhailova said that on Wednesday Navalny had undergone a “strange” MRI examination in a hospital outside the prison but doctors did not release his health diagnosis.
Navalny’s wife called on Thursday for her husband to be immediately released so that he could be treated by doctors he trusts.
In an Instagram post, Yulia Navalnaya described what was happening to her husband as personal revenge for his opposition activities and said that had to be stopped.
Navalny’s lawyers managed to visit him in his prison in the town of Pokrov some 100km (60 miles) east of Moscow on Thursday, after they were denied a visit to the penal colony the day before.
Earlier in the day, the prison service said Navalny was in a “satisfactory” condition.
He was arrested upon his return to Russia in January and was sentenced to two-and-a-half-years in jail the following month. He is serving his sentence outside Moscow, in a penal colony notorious for harsh discipline.
His jailing on old embezzlement charges sparked large protests, an outcry from rights groups in Russia and abroad and condemnation from Western governments.
Additional reporting by Reuters
