Moscow:
Lawyers for jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny sounded the alarm Wednesday more than the politician’s deteriorating overall health in prison and demanded quick access, saying he complained of back discomfort and leg numbness.
Last August President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic survived a close to-fatal poisoning with Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent, and was flown to Germany for therapy.
The 44-year-old was arrested upon his return to Russia in January and was sentenced to two-and-a-half-years in jail the following month. He is serving his sentence outdoors Moscow, in a penal colony notorious for harsh discipline.
Navalny’s lawyer Olga Mikhailova stated on Wednesday he had not too long ago been complaining of sturdy back discomfort, adding that his leg has gone numb this week.
The opposition politician had noticed a neurologist but the medical professional had not stated what was incorrect with him, Mikhailova stated, adding that Navalny had merely been provided ibuprofen.
“That’s all his treatment,” she told AFP, adding that the painkiller did not aid, even though his leg went numb on Tuesday.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He should be seen by a proper doctor,” she stated.
Mikhailova stated she was not permitted to see Navalny on Wednesday.
Navalny’s group expressed sturdy concern.
The opposition politician’s correct-hand man Leonid Volkov recommended the prison administration could possibly be hiding the reality that he had been transferred to a prison infirmary.
“We don’t know where Alexei Navalny is and why they are hiding him from his lawyers,” Volkov stated on Facebook.
“Life in danger”
Maria Pevchikh, head of investigations at Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, stated: “The rapid deterioration of his health condition raises our extreme concerns.”
“We believe that Navalny’s life is in danger and demand immediate access to him for his lawyers,” she tweeted.
Volkov stated that on Thursday Navalny’s lawyers would make a new try to see him in his prison in the town of Pokrov, positioned more than one hundred kilometres (62 miles) east of Moscow.
Navalny himself has described the Pokrov prison as a “concentration camp”, saying he was woken up each hour at evening simply because he was regarded a flight danger and guards recorded him on camera in the course of his sleep.
Last month Navalny was sentenced to two and a half years in a penal colony for breaching parole terms even though in Germany recovering from the poisoning attack.
On Tuesday, his group launched a campaign in search of Navalny’s release and announced plans to stage what they stated would be “modern Russia’s biggest protest.”
Navalny’s allies urged supporters to register with the web page absolutely free.navalny.com and mark their place on an on the internet map.
The group stated they would set a date for the protest when 500,000 supporters have been registered.
As of Wednesday, 200,000 persons have signed up, like more than 40,000 persons in Moscow and more than 22,000 in the second city Saint Petersburg.
Tens of thousands of Navalny supporters took to the streets across Russia in January and February but these rallies have been broken up and more than 10,000 have been detained.
Washington and Brussels have demanded Navalny’s quick release and imposed sanctions on Russian officials more than his poisoning. On Wednesday, Canada followed suit, slapping sanctions against nine Russian officials in response to “gross” rights violations and Navalny’s silencing.
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