Putin Critic Alexei Navalny Ending Hunger Strike After Doctors Warned He Was Nearing Death

Topline

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny will start to end his hunger strike that began on March 31, he said Friday, after doctors previously warned the opposition leader could be on the verge of death as his medical treatment in prison has become a political controversy.

Key Facts

Navalny, 44, announced he was ending the strike on Instagram, after starting the strike to protest his doctors being refused entrance to the prison where he’s serving a 32-month sentence.

Doctors who evaluated Navalny’s medical condition warned Saturday the activist “could die at any moment,” and his spokesperson said his death could come in “a matter of days.”

After doctors urged Navalny to end his strike, the activist said on Instagram he would start to gradually end his hunger strike and stop refusing food after making “progress” and being examined by non-prison doctors, according to translations of his post by the Associated Press and CNN.

Navalny said he is still demanding to be seen by an independent doctor to treat a loss of sensitivity in his arms and legs, which the AP notes was his primary criticism when launching the strike.

Russian authorities have said they offered Navalny medical care and he refused it, and said Monday he would be transferred to a prison hospital, but have so far not given in to his request to be treated by his own independent doctors.

United Nations human rights experts urged Wednesday for Navalny to be given access to his doctors, and the U.S. government has warned of potential consequences should Navalny die while in custody.

Big Number

24 days. That’s how long Navalny said it will take for him to gradually end the hunger strike.

Crucial Quote

“Thanks to the huge support of good people across the country and around the world, we have made huge progress,” Navalny said Friday, as translated by the Associated Press. “Two months ago, my requests for medical help were prompting smirks….Thanks to you, now I have been examined by a concilium of civilian doctors twice.”

Key Background

Navalny was detained in Moscow in January and imprisoned for a probation violation. He was detained after returning to Russia for the first time since being allegedly poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve agent in August and evacuated to Germany for medical treatment. Navalny has blamed the Kremlin for the poisoning, which left him on the verge of death, an assessment that U.N. experts and the U.S. government share but Russia denies. Navalny’s imprisonment and the controversy over his medical care have sparked widespread protests in Russia in support of him, which resulted in more than 1,000 people getting arrested Wednesday across the country.

Further Reading

Russian’s Navalny to end prison hunger strike on 24th day (Associated Press)

Putin Critic Navalny Could Die In Prison In A ‘Matter Of Days,’ Spokesperson Says (Forbes)

Kremlin Critic Alexei Navalny Goes On Hunger Strike In Russian Prison (Forbes)

More Than 1,000 Russians Arrested At Pro-Navalny Demonstrations, Watchdog Says (Forbes)