Kremlin Foe Navalny Moved to Prison Infirmary, Izvestiya Says
- Imprisoned opposition leader has temperature, severe cough
- Three inmates in his unit have tuberculosis, Navalny says
Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia at the passport control point at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on January 17, 2021.
Photographer: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty ImagesRussian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, on a hunger strike since last week, has been moved to the prison infirmary with a respiratory infection, the Federal Penitentiary Service said, according to the Izvestia newspaper.
Navalny, 44, reported a severe cough and a fever of 38.1 degrees Celsius (100.6 degrees Fahrenheit), saying three other prisoners in his unit have been hospitalized with tuberculosis, a statement posted on his account Monday said. The chief opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin started refusing food on March 31 to pressure prison authorities to grant him outside medical treatment for acute back pain that has spread to his legs. Officials say he’s getting adequate care within the prison.