Russian opponent Alexei Navalni, 44, was transferred on Monday (5) to the medical area of the IK-2 penal colony, where he is being held 100 km from Moscow, after suffering from a fever and cough.
In a social media post, President Vladimir Putin’s chief critic said three of his wingers in prison had been hospitalized with tuberculosis and joked that the disease could alleviate his other health problems – he said. hunger strike last week and accused prison officials of refusing it. adequate treatment for severe back and leg pain.
Navalni’s lawyers visit him regularly and help him keep posting on social media. In Monday’s post, he said that despite the respiratory symptoms, he would continue the hunger strike.
Hours after the publication, Izvestia, a pro-Kremlin newspaper, cited a statement from the Federal Prison Service as saying he had been transferred to the infirmary and had undergone several tests, including a test for coronavirus.
Russian state media and some members of a prison watch group accused Navalni of faking medical problems to stay in the limelight.
His allies announced that they would organize a demonstration on Tuesday (6) outside the penal colony to demand that he have access to a doctor of his choice.
Navalni was arrested on his return to Russia in January, after several months in Germany, where he was recovering from a poisoning he attributes to Russian authorities. He is formally accused of violating the conditions of his probation by leaving the country, even though the release occurred for medical reasons – he was in a coma.
The opponent received a commutation sentence for commuted fraud in 2014, in an action he describes as judicial harassment.
Although nominally independent, the Russian judiciary is aligned with the Kremlin. The country’s justice confirmed the militant’s conviction in February. In total, he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, of which he has already served ten months at home.
Several Western countries, in addition to the European Court of Human Rights, have called on Russia to release Navalni, a reaction Moscow has called unacceptable interference in internal affairs.
The United States has also announced sanctions, including a travel ban in the country and the freezing of assets abroad by officials accused of plotting the arrest of the activist. The Navalni affair also provoked internal reactions, with large protests, to which the authorities responded with more than 11,000 arrests.