09 December 2023 , 15:08
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Enemy of Vladimir Putin and vocal critic of his Kremlin government, Alexei Navalny, has suffered a "serious health incident" while in prison.
The high profile critic of the Russian president is believed to have suffered a "hunger faint" after not being fed in days. A spokesperson for Navalny says he had not been fed for days and his life may be at risk after the outspoken critic has not been seen.
Kira Yarmysh, Navalny's spokesperson, wrote: "He fell ill in his cell last week. He got dizzy and laid down on the floor. The colony staff came over immediately, lowered the cot, laid Alexey down and gave him an IV." They later confirmed, on a post made to social media platform X, that nobody was allowed to see him after Navalny fainted.
Navalny was deemed 'the man Putin fears most' (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)The post continued: "We don't know what it was, but given the fact that he's not being fed, is being kept in a punishment cell with no ventilation and the time for walks has been reduced to a minimum, it looks like a hunger faint." Lawyers were told they would see him when prison officials allowed, and though Navalny has spoken to his team since his faint, there has been no contact with the Putin critic for the last three days, The Sun reported.
It has left his legal team worried for his safety, with Yarmysh adding it is three days on from last contacting the 47-year-old and they now "don't know where he is." She added: "Before that, there were at least occasional letters from him, albeit censored ones, but there have been no letters all week. The fact that we can't find Alexey is particularly worrying."
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Navalny has been described as "the man Putin fears most" and has since been faced with a number of life-threatening scenarios, The Sun reported. The outspoken critic had previously been poisoned with Novichok, a poisoning attempt which left Navalny in a coma. Some believe the order for poisoning the critic was handed down by Putin. Navalny's disappearance comes just months before Russia holds another general election, with Putin set to stay in power until 2030 should he succeed in the 2024 elections.