“Navalny could die at any time”, say his Russian doctors

His personal doctor and three other doctors have asked prison officials to grant them immediate access to Navalny.

Hunger-strike

Navalny went on a hunger strike at the end of March because he would not receive proper treatment for his complaints in prison. The Kremlin critic had back problems and numbness in his hands and legs. Navalny wants to be seen by a doctor of her choice, but it’s not allowed.

In the video below, an ex-convict recounts the situation there:

Navalny spokeswoman Kira Jarmish, who was with him when he collapsed on a plane after being poisoned in August last year, said the situation was critical again. “Alexei is dying,” she said. “It’s a matter of days in her condition.”

Open letter

US President Joe Biden considers the current fate of the opposition leader to be “very unfair”. He told this to some reporters who had mentioned the situation in Navalny.

In an open letter published yesterday in the French newspaper Le Monde, more than 70 international figures called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to ensure that Navalny receives good medical care. The signatories include writers JK Rowling, Salman Rushdie and Martin Amis, actors Vanessa Redgrave and Jude Law, and musician Abba Björn Ulvaeus.

The Doctors Alliance medical union has ties to Navalny. According to them, the opposition leader’s eyesight has deteriorated since he went on a hunger strike. He would also be at greater risk of kidney failure.

Critical condition

A spokeswoman for the Medical Alliance called Navalny’s condition critical. She said union doctors did not examine Navalny themselves, but the Doctors Alliance relied on test results obtained by lawyers for the opposition leader.

The Kremlin critic was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison in February. The court ruled that he had violated his parole conditions in a fraud case while in Germany, where Navalny was being treated for poisoning with the nerve poison novichok. According to him, this would have been the work of the Kremlin.