MOSCOW (AP) — A doctor who saw prominent Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the hospital suggested on Monday that he may have been poisoned.
Navalny was rushed to the hospital Sunday from a detention facility where he was serving a 30-day sentence for calling an unsanctioned protest. He was arrested several days before a major opposition rally on Saturday that ended with nearly 1,400 people detained.
Anastasiya Vasilyeva, who has been Navalny’s physician for several years and saw him on Sunday, said on Monday that he has swelling and a rash on his face that could be consistent with chemical poisoning.
Vasilyeva said that hospital officials who previously diagnosed Navalny with an allergic reaction refused to run the necessary tests on him. Vasilyeva said that she would be allowed to visit Navalny again later on Monday.
The source of the allergic reaction or poisoning was not immediately clear. But Navalny ally Leonid Volkov on Sunday complained about “anti-sanitary conditions” at the detention facility where he had also been detained before.
Navalny has been the Kremlin’s most formidable foe since 2011 when he led a massive wave of protests against President Vladimir Putin and his party. He has since been convicted on two sets of criminal charges, largely regarded as politically motivated, and spent numerous stints in jail for disturbing public order and leading unsanctioned protests. (AP)