Russian activist flown to Berlin

:A member of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot was flown to a Berlin hospital overnight after a suspected poisoning, with his estranged wife saying Sunday it may have been an attempted murder.

Pyotr Verzilov, who has both Canadian and Russian citizenship, was admitted to a clinic in Moscow on Tuesday after falling ill following a court hearing.

Described by staff as being in “serious” condition, the 30-yearold was initially treated in intensive care and later regained consciousness. He was however still experiencing hallucinations and delirium, his girlfriend told Russian media on Friday.

Late on Saturday, he was flown to Germany aboard a medical helicopter chartered by the Cinema for Peace Foundation, an NGO which has long supported the band’s activism.

On arrival, he was met by Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, his estranged wife, who told a German newspaper the poisoning may have been an attempt to kill him.

“I’m working on the principle that he was the victim of either an act of intimidation or attempted murder,” she told the Sunday edition of Bild.

Speaking to a Russian website on Friday, his girlfriend Veronika Nikulshina, also a Pussy Riot activist, said it was “definitely poisoning”. AFP

BERLIN