Lawyer Asks Kremlin Critic Alexei Navalny Transferred To Civil Hospital In Moscow

Alexei Navalny. (Wikimedia Commons / Evgeny Feldman-Novaya Gazeta)

JAKARTA - Lawyer Alexei Navalny requested that the Kremlin critic be immediately transferred to a hospital in Moscow amid concerns over his health condition.

The 44-year-old went on a hunger strike for three weeks and was transferred from a prison in eastern Moscow to the prison hospital in Vladimir last Sunday. His colleague said his condition had worsened dramatically in recent days.

"He is very weak, he has difficulty sitting and talking," his lawyer Olga Mikhailova told Euronews, Wednesday, April 21.

"(Navalny) is not receiving proper medical assistance," he added, demanding that his client be transferred to a civilian hospital in the Russian capital.

On Tuesday local time, several doctors, including Navalny's personal doctor, Dr. Anastasia Vasilyeva said they were refused entry to the prison hospital's entrance, after waiting for hours outside the gates.

"This is disrespect and ridicule towards doctors," Vasilyeva said in a tweet, adding that "Navalny's health and life are clearly in jeopardy.

The worsening condition of Alexei Navalny has led activists to plan to hold a national demonstration this Wednesday, during the annual state address of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian authorities responded to this plan by warning that they would not allow destabilization and would take all necessary action against the planned demonstrations.

Navalny began a hunger strike on March 31 to protest the prison officials' refusal to allow doctors to visit him. Navalny needed a doctor from outside the prison, providing adequate treatment for back pain and numbness in his legs.

The Russian prison service insists that Navalny is getting all the medical assistance he needs and has described his condition as satisfactory.

But relatives of Kremlin critics have warned he could die at any time, comments that have drawn international condemnation.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was very concerned. He said the German government was working to ensure that he received proper medical care.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States government had told Russia there would be consequences if Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny died in prison.

"We have communicated to the Russian government that what happened to Mr Navalny in their custody is their responsibility. And they will be held accountable by the international community," Sullivan told CNN.

Navalny was arrested in January on his return from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from the neurotoxin attack Russia has blamed on. The Kremlin denies these allegations.

A Moscow court ordered him to serve 2 and 1/2 years in prison on charges of fraud in 2014, which were widely seen as politically motivated. The European Court of Human Rights described the sentence as arbitrary and utterly nonsensical.