Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is experiencing increased health problems in prison, according to his staff.
Navalny press secretary Kira Yarmysh announced on Twitter that he has been experiencing acute stomach pain and has lost a substantial amount of weight.
PUTIN CRITIC ALEXEI NAVALNY ALLEGES HE WAS THROWN INTO SOLITARY FOR WASHING HIS FACE
Russian authorities have reportedly repeatedly denied him treatment, and they keep sending him to a harsh punishment cell. The sudden onset of health problems has led some of his supporters to speculate that he may be getting gradually poisoned while in prison.
“The lawyer says that an ambulance was called for Alexey @navalny on the night of Friday to Saturday because of an acute stomach pain. No one is treating him and they are not even telling him the diagnosis. He has lost 8 kilos(!) [17.6 pounds] in the last 15 days in the punishment cell,” Yarmysh tweeted.
“When Alexey asks what he is ill with, the prison doctor mockingly answers that it is ‘just spring and everyone has exacerbations,'” she continued. “We do not rule out that all this time in prison he could have been poisoned with something to make his health deteriorate slowly but steadily.”
2/4 When Alexey asks what he is ill with, the prison doctor mockingly answers that it is “just spring and everyone has exacerbations”.
We do not rule out that all this time in prison he could have been poisoned with something to make his health deteriorate slowly but steadily.
— Кира Ярмыш (@Kira_Yarmysh) April 11, 2023
Navalny tweeted on Tuesday that conditions at his prison had gone from “hellish to extremely hellish.”
He claims the authorities forbid him from buying any food, his daily walks were moved to take place earlier, his letter-reading time has been curtailed, and he is made to work more. He also revealed that he was sentenced to an isolated punishment cell for another 15 days after just coming out of it.
Last week, Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee blamed Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation for the assassination of pro-Kremlin military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in St. Petersburg, allegedly cooperating with Ukrainian intelligence services, according to TASS.
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In October, Navalny said prosecutors were bringing new charges against him for allegedly promoting terrorism and “rehabilitating” Nazism. His lawyers estimate the cumulative total sentence of the charges, if he is convicted, is approximately three decades.
In June, Navalny was moved to an infamous maximum security prison 250 miles east of Moscow, Penal Colony No. 6, or IK-6, a strict prison known for its abuse of inmates, according to his press secretary.
