Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny, who went on hunger strike last week to complain of ill-treatment in prison, said on Monday April 5 that he had a fever and a strong cough but continued his strike despite everything.
To read also: Russia: plunged into hell of "correctional colony number 2" for Alexeï Navalny
Main opponent of the Kremlin, Alexeï Navalny, 44, announced on March 31 that he stopped eating to protest against his conditions of detention, accusing the prison administration of refusing him access to a doctor and of "
Torture
" by sleep deprivation.
Detained in the Pokrov penal colony, 100 km east of Moscow and considered to be one of the toughest in Russia, he complains of severe back pain and loss of sensitivity in his legs.
“
I am quoting the official data from today's temperature measurement: 'A strong cough, 38.1 ° C temperature,'
” Mr. Navalny wrote on his Instagram account.
But "
I am continuing the hunger strike, of course,
" he added.
Navalny transferred to a medical unit
In the evening, the pro-Kremlin newspaper
Izvestia
announced that the opponent had been transferred to a medical unit because he was showing "
signs of a respiratory illness, in particular a high fever
".
“
All the necessary tests have been done, including a test for coronavirus infection.
The detainee has been transferred to the medical unit where he is under observation,
”Izvestia said, citing the prison services (FSIN).
This information had not been confirmed by other sources or relatives of Alexey Navalny.
In his Instagram post, Alexeï Navalny also indicates that an inmate from his barracks was hospitalized on Monday for tuberculosis, the third case of this kind in a few weeks out of 15 prisoners.
“
This is our 'perfect, exemplary colony'.
Each prisoner prays to God not to end up here because inside, it is insalubrity, tuberculosis and a lack of medicines
”, writes the opponent before ironing:“
I am astonished that he there is no Ebola virus here
”.
Several pro-Kremlin Russian media, including the public television channel RT, have published reports in recent days presenting its camp as an “
exemplary
”
penal colony
.
"
There is not a single word of truth,
" replied Alexeï Navalny on Monday.
The Alliance of Doctors, a union close to Alexeï Navalny, for its part announced to organize a demonstration Tuesday in front of the penal colony to demand that the opponent has access to a doctor.
"
We are going there to understand what is happening in this horrible colony,
" Anastasia Vassilieva, union president and Alexey Navalny's personal doctor, said on Twitter.
The opponent, who survived last year from poisoning, was sentenced in February to two and a half years in prison for fraud in a case dating back to 2014, which he denounces as politically motivated.
