MOSCOW: Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny stated on Monday he had a excessive temperature and a foul cough, and that three of the 15 inmates in his Russian jail ward have been being handled in hospital for tuberculosis.
Navalny, 44, a distinguished critic of President Vladimir Putin, declared a starvation strike final week to protest towards what he stated was the refusal of jail authorities to present him correct medical look after acute again and leg ache.
His allies stated they might stage a rolling protest outdoors his jail from Tuesday until he was examined by a health care provider of his selection and given what they regard as correct medication.
State media and some members of a jail monitoring group have accused him of faking his medical issues to maintain himself within the public eye, one thing Navalny and his allies deny.
On Monday, Navalny stated {that a} third individual from his ward had been taken to hospital with tuberculosis, that he had a excessive temperature and cough, and joked darkly that catching the illness would possibly supply him aid from his different illnesses.
“If I have tuberculosis, then maybe it’ll chase out the pain in my back and numbness in my legs. That’d be nice,” he wrote on Instagram.
“I quote the official statistics of today’s temperature measurement: “Navalny A.A., dangerous cough, temperature 38.1,” he wrote in a post on Instagram, adding that he planned to continue his hunger strike.
A temperature above 38 degrees Celsius (100.58 degrees Fahrenheit) most often indicates a fever caused by an infection or illness.
Navalny’s lawyers have visited him regularly in custody and have helped him continue to post messages on social media.
Authorities at the IK-2 corrective penal colony 100 km (60 miles) east of Moscow, where the opposition politician is being held, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about a tuberculosis outbreak or Navalny’s temperature and cough.
They have said previously that his condition was satisfactory and that he has been provided with all necessary medical care.
Anastasiya Vasilyeva, a doctor and ally of Navalny, confirmed plans for a protest would take place on Tuesday.
(Additional reporting by Vladmir Soldatkin and Polina Nikolskaya; Editing by Timothy Heritage)
