Alexei Navalny, the fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, joked just hours before his suspected poisoning about how he managed to stay alive for so long, according to a report.
Ilya Chumakov, an activist in the Siberian city of Tomsk, told Reuters that she had met Navalny with a group and was asked how he managed to survive until the age of 44, because he is considered as Putin’s biggest political enemy.
Chumakov said Navalny joked that he had to make excuses for not being killed, but then turned serious. He said his death would not help Putin and probably turn him into a hero.
Kira Yarmish, Navalny’s spokeswoman, told the news agency that the Siberian hospital that was treating him was not allowed to transfer him to a hospital better equipped to treat him. France and Germany also offer to treat Navalny and Germany even sent a plane.
“The ban on transporting Navalny in an attempt on his life is currently being carried out by doctors and the deceptive authorities who have authorized it,” Yarmish said.
The 44-year-old is said to be in a coma and on a ventilator in a hospital for intensive care unit after falling ill on a flight back to Tomsk from Moscow. Yarmish said he was poisoned with one type of toxin and was conscious.
“We assume that Alexei was poisoned with something that mixed in his tea. That was the only thing he drank this morning. The doctors said that the toxin was absorbed faster because of the hot liquid. At the moment Alexei is unconscious, “she said.
State news agency Tass reported that police did not knowingly commit poisoning, a statement that rejected the politician’s allies.
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Doctors in Omsk Ambulance Hospital no. 1, where the politician was treated, remained tight-lipped about his diagnosis and said only that they considered a variety of theories, including poisoning. Local health officials said they found no indication that Navalny was suffering from a heart attack, stroke like the coronavirus.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
