UPDATE: Russian doctors treating opposition leader Alexei Navalny say they don’t believe he was poisoned and refused to transfer him to a German hospital.
Navalny, a 44-year-old politician who is one of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics, was admitted to an intensive care unit in a coma at a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk on Thursday, following what his supporters are calling a suspected poisoning that they believe was engineered by the Kremlin.
But Russian doctors treating opposition politician Alexei Navalny said Friday they haven’t found any indication that the Kremlin critic was poisoned.
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ORIGINAL STORY: Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is in a coma in a hospital in Siberia after falling ill from a suspected poisoning.
His spokeswoman said Navalny felt unwell on a flight to Moscow and the plane made an emergency landing. Kira Yarmysh said Navalny lost consciousness and must have consumed poison in tea he drank before boarding his flight.
Russia’s state news agency Tass reported the politician is in grave condition.
He is the most prominent member of Russia’s opposition and has set up a network of campaign offices across Russia to put forward opposition candidates in regional elections, challenging members of Russia’s ruling party.
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