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“She suffers from severe back pain and pain in her right leg, her calf is melting,” lawyer Olga Michailova told Dožd. “One of his legs practically doesn’t work.”
According to her, A. Navaln’s state of health is “extremely precarious”.
“We are afraid of his life and his health,” he added.
Russian officials said on Thursday that Navaln’s health condition was “satisfactory”, but this did not reassure his colleagues, who demanded more information about his health and whereabouts.
In August last year, an attempt was made to poison the most prominent critic of the Kremlin with the anti-nerve paralyzing substance Novičiok. After the poisoning, he was flown to Germany for treatment in a coma.
After returning to Russia in January, Navalnas, 44, was immediately arrested and sentenced to prison the following month for violating the terms of a probation sentence imposed on him in 2014 in a case of fraud and embezzlement while receiving treatment abroad.
His arrest sparked mass protests and his imprisonment in February on allegations of embezzlement sparked outrage from Russian and foreign human rights groups and condemned Western governments.
On Wednesday, Navaln’s lawyers expressed concern for his health as he served a sentence in the infamous Pokrov correctional colony near Moscow. According to them, the opposition complained of back pain and melting legs.
The Federal Prison Service (FSIN) said Thursday that the doctors who had examined Mr. Navalna also evaluated him.
“According to the results of the study, his health is evaluated as stable and satisfactory,” said the service.
Doctors do not report the diagnosis.
Leonid Volkov, Navaln’s right-hand man, suggested earlier that the prison administration could hide the fact that he had been transferred to a prison hospital and that “something was wrong with him.”
He later reported that two of Mr. Navaln’s lawyers had been granted permission to visit him in the Pokrov colony.
Navaln has been examined by doctors, but the doctors have yet to report on the diagnosis and treatment, his lawyers say.
“He was examined by a prison neurologist last Friday, the diagnosis and the results of the examination are still unclear,” Vadim Kobzev, a lawyer for Navaln, told the Interfax news agency on Thursday.
Ms Michailova, for her part, told Dožd television that on Wednesday Navaln was “taken to a civil hospital, as he puts it, and underwent an MRI test there.”
“They did not diagnose him, that is, they did not inform him of the diagnosis, they did not tell him what treatment he needed,” said the lawyer.
According to V. Kobzev, A. Navaln’s condition is aggravated by the fact that “eight times a night he is awakened to” preventive credit “.
According to him, A. Navalnas receives painkillers.
For their part, Mr. Navalno’s colleagues issued a statement to the head of the colony, the director of the FSIN, and the Attorney General, requesting that he be given the opportunity to see the doctor he referred and receive the necessary treatment.
In February, an anti-corruption activist was convicted of violating the terms of his probation in a 2014 fraud and embezzlement case. However, his comrades believe this was a way to silence criticism of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Russia for Navaln’s imprisonment and an attempt to poison him last summer, although Moscow denies the accusation.
Planned protests
The Kremlin said early Thursday that it was not following reports on Navaln’s health and had not asked prison authorities to provide relevant information.
“The situation of convicts and people serving time in penal institutions is monitored by his administration. This is their job,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Marija Pevčich, head of research at the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) founded by A. Navaln, said that according to Navaln supporters, “her life is in danger.”
Navaln is serving a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence in a neighborhood 100 km east of Moscow, famous for its extremely strict procedures.
Earlier this month, in his first post from Pokrov Correctional Facility 2, Navaln described the facility as a “real concentration camp” and said he was “surprised” by the poor conditions there.
Navaln hasn’t left the Kremlin alone for a decade, investigating the corruption of high-ranking officials and organizing mass protests across Russia.
His arrest at the Moscow airport in January sparked protests again, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets across the country.
This week, Navaln’s comrades launched a campaign to free him and announced plans for “the biggest protests in modern Russia.”
