Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny rushed to hospital after apparently drinking poisoned tea

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny
(Image credit: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images)

Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic, was rushed to the hospital Thursday after he became suddenly ill on an flight back to Moscow from Siberia. "The plane made an urgent landing in Omsk," tweeted Kira Yarmysh, the press secretary Navalny's anti-corruption organization. "We suspect that Alexei was poisoned by something mixed into [his] tea. It was the only thing he drank since morning. ... Doctors are saying that the toxic agent absorbed faster through the hot liquid. Right now Alexei is unconscious" and on a ventilator in intensive care.

Videos shared on social media, including by news organizations tied to Russian security services, record Navalny howling with pain on the airplane and being wheeled to the hospital on a stretcher once the plane landed.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.