'Putin Jeongjeok' Navalny's Health Rapidly Deteriorates... Lawyer Says "Toxicity and Radiation Tests Needed"

The health of Alexei Navalny, a prominent Russian dissident currently imprisoned, has reportedly deteriorated rapidly recently. Known as an opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, he has exposed numerous corruption allegations involving high-ranking Russian officials.

According to local media on the 12th (local time), Navalny's lawyer stated via Telegram, "Navalny has lost 8 kg in the past two weeks," and "his health has worsened to the point that an ambulance should be called."

The lawyer also expressed concern that Navalny is not receiving appropriate medical treatment related to this. He said, "The prison administration has refused to accept the medication intended for Navalny."

He added, "Navalny is suffering from an unidentified illness," and did not rule out the possibility that Russian authorities might be involved.

Accordingly, the lawyer announced that they will request toxicology and radiation tests to accurately identify the problem.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The prison placed Navalny back in solitary confinement for a 15-day period on the 7th after he had been released from solitary. The yard exercise time was also moved from the usual schedule to 7 a.m., and new restrictions were imposed on purchasing supplementary food and sending letters.

The lawyer suspects that these measures are retaliation for the Anti-Corruption Foundation, recently founded by Navalny, exposing corruption allegations against the correctional authorities. Recently, the Anti-Corruption Foundation raised suspicions that food prices in Russian prisons were inflated.

Navalny collapsed on a plane in August 2020, showing symptoms of poisoning by a toxic substance, and was transferred to Germany for treatment. He returned to Russia in January 2021 and was immediately arrested by Russian authorities.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In the subsequent trial, the court sentenced him to a total of 11 years and 6 months in prison on charges including fraud and contempt of court, but he maintains his innocence, claiming the verdict is politically motivated even while incarcerated.

Recently, Russia has speculated that Navalny is connected to the death of a famous Russian military blogger in Saint Petersburg, who died in an explosion suspected to be a terrorist attack. Russian judicial authorities claim that the suspect is a supporter of Navalny and that Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation and Ukrainian intelligence agencies conspired in the incident.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.