Russian opposition politician Navalny in coma after suspected poisoning - spokeswoman

[webfact]

Russian opposition politician Navalny in coma after suspected poisoning - spokeswoman

By Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Andrew Osborn

 

FILE PHOTO: Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny takes part in a rally to mark the 5th anniversary of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov's murder and to protest against proposed amendments to the constitution, in Moscow, Russia February 29, 2020. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov/File Photo

 

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was in a coma in a Siberian hospital on Thursday after drinking a cup of tea that his spokeswoman said she believed was laced with poison.

 

Navalny, 44, was in intensive care and on an artificial lung ventilator, spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on social media.

 

"We assume that Alexei was poisoned with something mixed into his tea. It was the only thing that he drank in the morning. Doctors say the toxin was absorbed faster through the hot liquid. Alexei is now unconscious," Yarmysh said.

 

She did not say who she believed may have poisoned Navalny, but said police had been called to the hospital. Medical tests were expected later on Thursday.

 

Navalny, a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, started feeling ill when returning to Moscow from Tomsk in Siberia by plane on Wednesday morning, Yarmysh said.

 

Navalny, a lawyer and anti-corruption activist, has served many stints in jail in recent years for organising anti-Kremlin protests and been physically attacked in the street by pro-government activists.

 

He has helped investigations into what he has said are outrageous examples of official corruption.

 

Russia holds regional elections next month and Navalny and his allies have been preparing for them, trying to increase support for candidates which they back.

 

Pavel Lebedev, a fellow passenger, posted an account of what he saw on social media.

 

"At the start of the flight he went to the toilet and didn't come back. He started feeling really sick. They struggled to bring him round and he was screaming in pain."

 

Navalny had drunk a cup of tea at a Tomsk airport cafe before boarding his flight, Yarmysh said. The Interfax news agency quoted the cafe's owners as saying they were checking CCTV cameras to try to establish what had happened.

 

Navalny's plane later made an emergency landing in Omsk so that he could be rushed to hospital. Footage posted on social media by a fellow passenger showed a motionless Navalny being stretchered into an ambulance by medics.

 

S7, the airline he was travelling with, said Navalny had started feeling very ill soon after take-off and that the captain had decided to make an emergency landing at a nearby airport.

 

It said he had not eaten or drunk anything on board.

 

The TASS news agency cited the head doctor at a hospital in Omsk confirming that Navalny had been admitted there and saying he was in a serious condition.

 

Yarmysh drew a parallel with an incident last year in which Navalny suffered an acute allergic reaction that one doctor said could have resulted from poisoning with an unknown chemical.

 

"Obviously the same has been done to him now," Yarmysh said.

 

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Russia's arrests and detention of Navalny in 2012 and 2014 were politically-motivated and violated his human rights, a ruling Moscow called questionable.

 

(Additional reporting by Anton Kolodyazhnyy, Alexander Marrow, Gleb Stolyarov and Polina Ivanova in Moscow and Olzhas Auyezov in Almaty; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Angus MacSWan)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-08-20

 

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[keith101]

Putin at his best again , removing any kind of opposition to him and his grip on power .

[sammieuk1]

What a surprise what exoctic poison this time polonium novichok or bleach ????  

[worgeordie]

11 minutes ago, webfact said:

"She did not say who she believed may have poisoned Navalny,"

But I think we all know who ordered it.

regards worgeordie

[transam]

They're good at that....????

[mtls2005]

6 minutes ago, keith101 said:

Putin at his best again , removing any kind of opposition to him and his grip on power .

 

And he doesn't even try to make it look like an accident: concrete poisoning (fell off building), gravity overdose (fell off building), defenestration.

 

 

[Chang_paarp]

Novichok anyone?

[Puchaiyank]

Nothing to see here folks.  Russia, N. Korea, and Iran has a storied history of honoring their opposition...????

[gazza4]

4 hours ago, worgeordie said:

But I think we all know who ordered it.

regards worgeordie

After consulting with his mate donny as to what donny would recommend considering his vast experience with ingesting all brands of poison.

[Tug]

Another blow to democracy and Russian freedom obviously we know who’s behind it hopefully soon the favor can be reciprocated by some Russian patriot 

[riclag]

7 hours ago, gazza4 said:

After consulting with his mate donny as to what donny would recommend considering his vast experience with ingesting all brands of poison.

 The disseminating  of some  serious misinformation !  Very Very sad! 

 

[Paiman]

More and more countries seem to be going that direction.

 

Thailand to follow?

[Scott]

Off-topic post removed. 

 

[TheFishman1]

This doesn’t give trump any ideas

[Geoffggi]

18 hours ago, webfact said:

Navalny, a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin,

There's the problem .................!!!!!

[TPI]

1 hour ago, TheFishman1 said:

This doesn’t give trump any ideas

If the left  in the US were in control you could see this happening every day to people who were considered a "threat"!   ????

[Proboscis]

18 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

What a surprise what exoctic poison this time polonium novichok or bleach ????  

Novichok and Polonium are invariably only used abroad as it is all to easy to contaminate others. No problem if others are killed abroad but perhaps a bigger problem in Russia if some Russians killed.

 

 

[Deli]

17 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

Nothing to see here folks.  Russia, N. Korea, and Iran has a storied history of honoring their opposition...????

... and many more ! Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Belarus, Isreal... endless list.

[grumpy 4680]

20 hours ago, webfact said:

saying they were checking CCTV cameras to try to establish what had happened.

         Fat chance of that ever happening, KGB will beat them to it.

[Morch]

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1178054-trump-says-he-is-considering-pardon-for-leaker-edward-snowden/page/3/?tab=comments#comment-15721743

 

[PETERTHEEATER]

23 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

What a surprise what exoctic poison this time polonium novichok or bleach ????  

Ask the suspect, Sam Ovar.....

[connda]

On 8/20/2020 at 2:50 PM, webfact said:

Navalny, 44, was in intensive care and on an artificial lung ventilator, spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on social media.

Sounds like he has Covid-19.