Alexei Navalny, Russia’s leading opposition politician, is suffering from severe stomach pains, possibly caused by a slow-acting poisoning that occurred in prison. This was stated by a close associate of his, Ruslan Shaveddinov, specifying that last week an ambulance was called to Navalny in the maximum security penal colony IK-6 in Melekhovo, about 250 km east of Moscow, where he is being held.
“The situation is critical, we are all very concerned,” Shaveddinov told the Guardian in a telephone interview. “There have been no updates on Navalny’s health since the last ambulance arrived,” he added, because “prison authorities are doing everything possible to isolate him and have refused to admit him to hospital. Our theory is that they are killing them slowly, using a slow-acting poison that is applied through food.”
Navalny communicates with the outside world through his lawyers. He is serving sentences totaling 11 and a half years on charges including fraud and contempt of court, which human rights groups say were fabricated to silence him. Concerns over Navalny’s health have grown in recent months and led to a rare petition earlier this year by a group of Russian lawmakers and doctors who used their full names to demand that he receive better medical treatment.
Source: IL Tempo

John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.