Putin enemy ‘poisoned’ in prison
RUSSIA’s most prominent opposition leader has been poisoned by a chemical agent while in prison, his lawyer and doctor claim.
Alexei Navalny, who was jailed for 30 days last week after calling for anti-Kremlin protests, was taken to hospital on sunday with facial swelling, eye problems and a rash.
the authorities said he had suffered a suspected allergic reaction while at a detention centre in Moscow – to which he returned yesterday after being discharged from hospital.
But a doctor said Mr Navalny, 43, had never suffered from allergies before, and she would be testing samples medical teams had managed to obtain from him to try to establish the cause of his illness.
Dr Anastasia Vasilyeva said: ‘It was a toxic reaction to a chemical, it was definitely some chemical agent. It’s absurd to call it an allergy.’
she added that she opposed Mr Navalny’s discharge, saying: ‘he needs to be under close medical supervision.’
Dr Vasilyeva also expressed concerns the chemical agent which caused the outbreak could still be in his prison cell.
Mr Navalny’s lawyer olga Mikhailova said the illness was caused by poisoning by ‘some kind of chemical substance’ but its source had not been established. she said he had been given anti-inflammatory steroids and that the swelling had subsided.
Mr Navalny, a lawyer and anticorruption activist, has been the Kremlin’s most formidable foe since 2011, when he led a wave of protests against president Vladimir Putin. he has had numerous stints in jail and has been attacked several times.
saturday’s protest in Moscow for which he had led calls was the largest in a decade.
Nearly 1,400 were detained as ordinary Russians took to the streets alongside activists to demonstrate over a decision to exclude opposition candidates from local elections in Moscow.