Despite complaints from imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny about the pain and lack of medical care, a Russian rights organization says there is nothing to worry about. Members of the Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights in the detention centers visited Navalny Friday morning in the penal colony, 100 kilometers from Moscow, where he is serving a sentence of 2.5 years in prison.
His lawyers visited him the day before, after losing contact with their client for a while. They said Navalny has had severe back pain for four weeks. He was also unable to walk due to complaints in his leg. Navalny also expressed these complaints on his Instagram account.
The prison authorities would only have given Navalny two painkillers a day. His lawyers say they have been trying to get him the right medication for four weeks, but they have not succeeded. It was also not possible for your doctor to examine Navalny.
As for the attorneys’ statements, the Russian Prison Service provided only a brief explanation of the opposition leader’s health. Navalny, like other prisoners, is said to have undergone a medical examination. His condition was described as “stable and satisfactory.”
There are no requests
The committee now confirms that Navalny is indeed in pain in the leg and has requested help with access to painkillers. However, according to the commission, he would not have made any requests, Russian news agency TASS reported. “He can still walk himself,” the commission said.
Navalny confirmed the committee’s visit via his Twitter account, but expressed reservations that members would not issue a report immediately afterwards. “Perhaps there was a need for consultation to make an announcement afterward – something like ‘He can walk by himself,’ the opposition leader said in a tweet.”
Navalny is in prison because he claims he failed to abide by the terms of a previous conviction, which he says were politically motivated. The Kremlin critic did not inform the Russian authorities as agreed. He recovered in Germany after being poisoned with a nerve gas at home.
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