Amid international pressure, Russia has warned it will ‘not let’ opposition Alexei Navalny die in prison

LONDON.- Russian authorities “will not let” opposition Alexei Navalny, imprisoned and on hunger strike, “die in prison”, Russian Ambassador to London Andrei Kelin told British broadcaster BBC this Sunday.

“Of course, we won’t allow him to die in prison, but I can say that Mr. Navalny is behaving like a hooliganKelin said.

Alexei Navalny went on a hunger strike on March 31 to protest the conditions in which he is being held. The 44-year-old opponent has been in jail since January, when he returned to Russia after recovering from poisoning for which he nearly died and which he said was orchestrated by Moscow, a charge the Kremlin denies it.

Navalny is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence for embezzlement, which he says is politically motivated, at a penal colony in the city of Pokrov, about 100 kilometers east of Moscow.

On hunger strike for more than two weeks, their doctors said on Saturday their health had deteriorated and demanded that authorities let them into the prison. “Our patient can die at any time”said cardiologist Yaroslav Ashikhmin, noting the high levels of potassium found in Navalny’s body. Doctors requested that the opponent be transferred to intensive care.

For her part, Navalny’s daughter made a categorical appeal on Twitter for her father to be examined by a doctor. “Let a doctor visit my father”wrote about Daria Navlnaya, 20, who studies at Stanford University in California.

He also spoke today US President’s National Security Advisor Joe Biden, who said Washington had warned the Kremlin that Moscow would be “held responsible by the international community” if Navalny died in prison. In an interview with CNN news network, Jake Sullivan today warned that Russia will face “consequences” if Navalny dies in prison.

“We are seeing a variety of impacts from different measures that we would take, and I will not announce them publicly just yet, but we have communicated (to Russia) that there will be consequences if Navalny dies,” said Sullivan.

Yesterday, Biden himself said Navalny’s fate was “totally unfair, totally inappropriate.”

France and Germany joined this Sunday in criticizing Navalny’s treatment in prison. Berlin announced that EU foreign ministers would discuss the issue on Monday and Paris warned of possible additional sanctions.s.

Concerns about Navalny’s health rise amid mounting tensions between Moscow and the West over a series of conflicts, such as the growing deployment of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, interference in the elections American and other hostile activities.

In fact, earlier this week, Washington imposed new sanctions on Moscow for massive cyber attack, election interference, and other activities.

Navalny’s team called for mass protests across Russia on Sunday to help save the life of the Russian opposition leader., who since March 31 has been on hunger strike in the prison where he must demand adequate medical treatment for his back pain and numbness in his legs and hands.

The mobilisations are scheduled for Wednesday April 21 at night, just hours after the head of the Kremlin gave his long-awaited State of the Nation speech.

“It’s time to act. We’re not just talking about Navalny’s freedom, but his life.”, appreciated Leonid Volkov, his right-hand man, on the social network Facebook. And he added that Wednesday’s protests could be the decisive battle against “absolute evil.”

Authorities have, however, increased pressure on supporters of the main Kremlin opponent in recent months. More than 10,000 protesters were arrested between January and February.

Russian prosecutors on Friday asked a court to consider the Navalni Anti-Corruption Foundation and its network of regional offices as “extremist” organizations, a measure aimed at vetoing them in Russia and for which they could imprison their members, even their members. .

AFP and ANSA agencies

THE NATION