Russia must provide ‘immediate’ medical care to Navalny: Berlin

Germany on Friday demanded swift medical care for jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who has complained of being denied access to hospital treatment by prison officials in Russia.

Navalny, the most prominent opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Wednesday said he had flu symptoms including a fever but was being kept in a punishment cell at his maximum-security prison outside Moscow and being denied basic medication.

Navalny “is in urgent need of medical assistance as numerous Russian doctors have pointed out. We call on the Russian authorities to provide this immediately and completely,” said government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann.

Berlin also reiterated a call for Navalny’s release, saying that his imprisonment was based on a “politically motivated verdict”.

For the past two years, the 46-year-old has been held outside Vladimir, a town around 230 kilometres (145 miles) east of Moscow after an embezzlement conviction, one of several rulings Navalny has denounced as an attempt to silence him.

Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-made nerve agent, on a trip to Siberia in 2020.

He received treatment in Berlin, and has accused Putin of being behind the attack.

In an open letter, hundreds of Russian doctors urged the authorities to stop “tormenting” Navalny and provide him with adequate care.