[ad_1]
Cardiologist Yaroslav Ashichmin and several other doctors said in a statement that they were calling on Russia’s most prominent opponent, Vladimir Putin, to “immediately end the hunger strike to save their lives and health.”
“If the hunger strike continues even for the shortest time, unfortunately soon we will simply have nothing to deal with,” said a statement published by Russia’s independent media portal Mediazona.
On March 31, Navalnas, 44, went on a hunger strike and demanded adequate treatment for back pain and numbness in his legs and arms.
Navaln’s doctors said the Kremlin critic was transferred to a civilian hospital in central Vladimir on Tuesday and had access to “what appears to be an independent examination” thanks to “enormous” public support.
The doctors added that early Thursday they had received the results of Mr. Navaln’s health evaluation and medical tests, and the next day they would inform the opposition through their lawyers of their opinion.
Last weekend, Navaln doctors said he could die “at any moment” if his blood test showed a “critical level” of potassium.
On Wednesday, thousands of Russians took to the streets of their cities to express their support for A. Navalnas, and the West warned that should the opposition die, the Kremlin would face “consequences.”
More than 1,900 people have been detained during the protests, including more than 800 in St. Petersburg, according to OVD-Info, an independent group that monitors arrests of activists.
In a new Instagram post Thursday, A. Navalnas said he was full of “pride and hope.”
Navaln’s right-hand man, Leonid Volkov, said opposition politicians had received information about his health when Russian authorities reacted to public pressure.
“It is very sad that to achieve such a result, it takes 23 days to give up food,” Volkov said on the Telegram platform.
Navaln was arrested in January after returning to Russia from Germany, where he was being treated for a nerve paralyzing substance after severe poisoning. A. Navalna was tried for poisoning in August of last year. He lost consciousness on a plane flying from Siberia to Moscow. For several days, the opposition was treated by local doctors and then flown to Berlin for treatment.
Western experts have discovered that Navaln was poisoned by the nerve paralyzing substance Novičiok, developed in the Soviet Union. Navaln blames Moscow, but the Putin administration denies any involvement.
In February, Navaln was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for violating the terms of his probation in a 2014 fraud case while receiving treatment in Germany. It was closed at the Pokrov Correctional Center in the Vladimir region, about 100 km east of Moscow.
