Advertisement

Alexei Navalny ‘more or less’ recovered from hunger strike: Russian prison official

Click to play video: 'Navalny handed 3.5-year jail sentence as police detain supporters outside Moscow court'
Navalny handed 3.5-year jail sentence as police detain supporters outside Moscow court
WATCH: Navalny handed 3.5-year jail sentence as police detain supporters outside Moscow court – Feb 2, 2021

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has ‘more or less’ recovered his health following a hunger strike and has the possibility of communicating with his family, the head of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service said on Thursday.

Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent domestic critic, is serving a 2-1/2 year jail sentence for parole violations he says were trumped up.

“I can say he has more or less recovered his health,” the TASS news agency quoted Alexander Kalashnikov, head of the Federal Penitentiary Service, as saying. “He already weighs 82 kg (181 lbs). He is eating normally and has the possibility of communicating with his family.”

The 44-year-old opposition politician had declared a hunger strike in late March to demand better medical care in prison after experiencing acute leg and back pain.

Story continues below advertisement

His deteriorating health prompted allies to call on his supporters to take to the streets to demand he receive adequate care, but the turnout at those rallies was more modest than expected.

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Navalny, who last year survived what German doctors said was a nerve agent poisoning, halted his hunger strike last month after receiving better medical care.

Ivan Zhdanov, one of Navalny’s closest allies, said on Thursday that Navalny’s health condition was generally satisfactory.

Click to play video: 'Russia promises response after U.S. levies sanctions over Navalny detention'
Russia promises response after U.S. levies sanctions over Navalny detention

Russia in recent weeks has moved to outlaw Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation and regional campaign groups as extremist.

The case has prompted Navalny’s allies to suspend much of their activity.

If Navalny’s foundation and campaign groups are formally declared extremist, the authorities will gain the power to jail activists and freeze their bank accounts. The next court hearing in the case is set for June 9.

Story continues below advertisement

Navalny’s allies say the extremism allegations are an attempt to hinder their political opposition to the ruling United Russia party ahead of a parliamentary election in September.

(Reporting by Anton Kolodyazhnyy and Anton Zverev; Writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

Sponsored content

AdChoices