"Prevent medical malpractice" | Israel today

The wife of the Russian opposition leader reported a systematic prevention of sleep and deterioration in his medical condition • "He is in severe pain and we should not visit him," the wife wrote

• Alexei Navalny during his trial // Photo: AFP

Deterioration in the health of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the penal colony.

Today (Thursday) he passed a document through his lawyers to the Attorney General and the Prison Service demanding that he be allowed eight hours of uninterrupted sleep and see a doctor.

He said he was systematically denied medical treatment instead of his imprisonment.

He laments that he is awakened at any hour during the night, due to his recognition as "prone to escape".

Navalny argues that the policies of the wardens and administrative staff in the penal colony are illegal. 

Navalny wrote that on March 19 he was examined by a neurologist, who was supposed to indicate the diagnosis in the inmate's medical record.

At the same time he stated that he still does not know the diagnosis, and the only drug given to him is "ibuprofen".

"I believe that the deterioration in my condition is a direct result of the actions and inaction of the FSIN (Prison Service) officers, who deliberately deprive me of proper medical care and undermine my health," Navalny writes.

The opposition also notes that the management of the penal colony did not allow his personal physician Alexei Barinov to see him and did not give him the medication he recommended. 

Navalny also relies on an order from the Ministry of Justice in which every prisoner is guaranteed eight consecutive hours of sleep.

In practice, he claims, one of the guards disturbs him eight times during the night, photographing him and thus "torturing me through sleep deprivation." 

The person who also reported Navalny's condition was his wife Julia on her Instagram page.

She wrote that her husband's problems with her back started in the previous detention center "Rest of the Sailors" about a month ago.

She said that since moving to the penal colony the health condition has only worsened "Alexei forbade us to talk about it so that he would not look like he was complaining", Julia added.

The wife noted that "Putin told the whole country that he was reading my references to him. I demand the immediate release of my husband, who he (Putin) threw into jail illegally."

Navalny's lawyer said it was a severe pain that has been going on for the past month and that attorneys have been banned from visiting Navalny in prison.

On the other hand, the Prison Service said today in response that Navalny's health condition is satisfactory.