Russia moves Navalny to prison hospital under Western pressure
MOSCOW (AFP) - Ailing Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been transferred to a prison hospital as the EU warned it would hold Moscow responsible for the state of his health.
The United States on Sunday threatened Russia with “consequences” if President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent domestic opponent dies in jail.
Navalny launched a hunger strike three weeks ago and his private doctors warned over the weekend he could die at “any minute.”
Russia’s prison service, which has barred the dissident’s medical team from visiting him, said Monday its doctors had decided to move him to a medical facility at another penal colony outside Moscow.
But it insisted the anti-corruption campaigner’s condition was “satisfactory”, and said he was taking vitamin supplements as part of medical treatment.
Fears over Navalny’s fate have further worsened relations between Moscow and the West, already strained over a Russian troop build-up along the border with Ukraine and a diplomatic row with EU member state the Czech Republic.
As the European Union’s 27 foreign ministers held virtual talks Monday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc held the Russian authorities responsible for Navalny’s health.
Germany said the EU would be closely watching to ensure Navalny received the necessary care, while Britain urged Navalny’s release.
- Russia dismisses protests The Kremlin has dismissed the outcry from foreign leaders over the condition of the 44year-old, who last year came close to death after being poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok.
“The health of convicts in the Russia Federation cannot and should not be a topic concerning them,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Navalny was arrested in Russia in January after returning from being treated in Germany for the August poisoning, which he says was carried out by Moscow -- an accusation denied by Putin’s administration.
Sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for embezzlement -- charges he says are politically motivated -- Navalny began a hunger strike on March 31 demanding medical treatment for back pain and numbness to his hands and legs.
The EU in October imposed sanctions on six Russian officials over the nerve agent attack, and in February added another four individuals over Navalny’s arrest and sentencing.