A Russian doctor who has received medical data from Alexei Navalny says the Russian opposition leader could die within days if he does not receive medical attention. Navalny is detained in a prison camp and has been on a hunger strike for 18 days.
Navalny’s blood contains too much potassium, which can cause cardiac arrest, says the doctor who received test results from the family of the 44-year-old opposition leader. Navalny’s kidney function also appears to be poor. According to his wife, he has lost 20 pounds since the start of the hunger strike. “He could die at any moment,” the doctor writes in a post on Facebook.
‘Immediate action needed’
Four doctors, including Navalny’s personal physician Anastasia Vasiljeva, have asked to be able to visit him, but the authorities have so far refused. Navalny started his hunger strike because he wanted treatment from an independent doctor for severe back pain and numbness in his legs.
Vasiljeva traveled to the penal camp on Tuesday to visit him but became arrested at the entrance. On Saturday, she shared Navalny’s test results on Saturday, saying that “immediate action is needed”.
President Putin’s main critic was arrested on January 17 when he returned to Russia from Germany, where he had been treated for poisoning. German, French and Swedish laboratories concluded that he had been poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok developed in Russia. According to Navalny and research collective Bellingcat Moscow was behind the poisoning. Russian authorities deny that.
US President Biden called Navalny’s situation “totally unfair” on Saturday. Seventy famous writers and artists called on Russian President Putin today to provide Navalny with adequate medical assistance.
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