Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny’s health is said to be critical. According to his spokesperson, Navalny was taken to hospital after losing weight, and it is suspected that he was poisoned by the prison food. According to the Russia expert, Malcolm Dixelius, it cannot be ruled out that this may be the case.
– But it could also be that the long prison stay, and what he has been through before, makes him weak or susceptible to other types of diseases, he says.
Malcolm Dixelius believes that it is difficult to know what happens to Navalny in prison because the information is scarce.
– In Russia, there is complete silence about Navalny. All the information we have comes via his lawyer and further through various spokespersons, but they know what he has been through before – that he was subjected to a serious murder attempt in which he narrowly survived, he says.
– But it is clear, if he loses so much weight so quickly, it must be a critical situation.
According to his spokesperson, Navalny, who has been imprisoned since 2019, many times in solitary confinement without being allowed to have contact with the outside world, should have lost a good eight kilograms in 15 days.
Signs of desperation
Another high-profile person who has been in Russian prison since the end of March this year is the American Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich. He too is isolated, and according to Malcolm Dixelius, the isolation is a sign of Russian desperation.
– Both of these people are part of a negotiation game. It is a way on the Russian side to pressure countries into concessions and try to find opportunities to perhaps exchange prisoners or get other benefits.
– Right now, both of these events indicate a form of desperation on the part of the Russian authorities, he says.
Hear more from Malcolm Dixelius in the player above.