Alexei Navalny’s Health Deteriorates in Russian Prison, Ambulance Called Due to Severe Stomach Pain

Early Saturday morning, an ambulance was called to the prison where Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition politician, is being held due to acute stomach pains. Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said that Navalny has been suffering from severe stomach pain since Monday and has been banned from buying alternative food. Yarmysh added that Navalny’s lawyer told her team that an ambulance had been called for the imprisoned opposition leader last Friday due to severe stomach pain.

Yarmysh said that Navalny is not eating anything because he is prohibited from receiving parcels with food or to buy food in the prison store and the food that is provided by the prison to inmates is making his pain worse. She added that the situation is a “huge surprise” as Navalny has never experienced anything like this before.

Navalny’s health has been deteriorating since he was transferred to a prison in the Vladimir region, east of Moscow, on February 2. He was moved to a punishment cell on Wednesday after spending a few days in regular confinement.

The opposition leader has been in prison since January 17, when he returned to Russia from Germany, where he had been recovering from a near-fatal poisoning with a nerve agent last summer. Navalny’s team and Western governments have accused the Kremlin of being behind the poisoning, which the Russian government has denied.

The situation has raised concerns among Navalny’s supporters and human rights activists, who are calling for his immediate release. It is unclear what is causing Navalny’s stomach pains, but his team suspects that he is being poisoned again.