Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is severely ill and his condition is worsening rapidly, according to a key member of his team who raised the possibility that the politician may be being poisoned.
Navalny was suffering from stomach pains and had lost more than 8kg in body weight in just over two weeks, Ruslan Shaveddinov, a member of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said in a phone call on Friday.
An ambulance was called for Navalny to the prison last week, Shaveddinov said, but no medicines were prescribed. “He and his lawyers have repeatedly demanded access to doctors, a medical examination, a normal examination. But the prison authorities refuse,” he said.
Navalny, 46, is being held at a maximum-security penal colony in Melekhovo, east of Moscow. His lawyers and supporters were particularly concerned, Shaveddinov said, because Navalny’s health had already been weakened by the assassination attempt against him in 2020 using the nerve agent novichok.
Navalny recovered from that attack in Germany before returning to Russia in January the following year. He was arrested on his arrival and has since received multiple sentences, adding up to more than 11 years in jail.
“Russian prison is already a place where people’s health deteriorates, while Alexei has recently suffered a failed assassination attempt,” Shaveddinov said. “Now he is also constantly being placed in an isolator, a room sized 2.5 metres by three metres . . . without being given access to doctors. This is all very concerning.
“His lawyers suggest that a poisoning may have taken place,” Shaveddinov added. Speaking with Reuters on Thursday, Navalny’s press secretary Kira Yarmysh said that the team “couldn’t rule out” the idea of incremental poisoning.
She said the opposition leader was being denied food parcels sent from outside, while eating prison food was making his condition worse. Shaveddinov said Navalny was suffering from “unbearable pain” in his stomach.
“It’s a sort of slow and methodical murder, happening in front of our eyes right now, with the whole world watching. It’s very disturbing,” Shaveddinov said. Navalny’s lawyers visit him regularly.