Russian hospital claims Putin critic Navalny wasn't poisoned, bars his medevac to Germany


The Russian opposition leader who is in a coma, possibly after being poisoned, is reportedly not being allowed to transfer out of a state-run hospital.
Alexei Navalny, prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was hospitalized this week after he suddenly became ill on a flight to Moscow from Siberia, and his spokesperson said that "We suspect that Alexei was poisoned by something mixed into [his] tea." On Friday, Navalny's spokesperson said he is not being permitted to transfer out of the state-run hospital where he's being treated, describing this refusal to let him leave as "an attempt on his life," CBS News reports. Doctors from Germany already arrived with the intention of transferring Navalny, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The hospital is claiming that Navalny's condition is too unstable for him to be transferred, The New York Times reports. Doctors also claim that "no poisons or traces of their presence" were found in Navalny's body and that "we do not believe that the patient has suffered poisoning," asserting that he suffered from "a sudden drop in blood sugar" due to a "metabolic disorder," per CBS.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, alleges that officials aren't allowing him to be transported out of the hospital because they hope "to make the chemical substance that is in Alexey's body disappear," CNN reports. She added that "we of course cannot trust this hospital and we demand for Alexey to be given to us, so that we could have him treated in an independent hospital whose doctors we trust." Navalny's spokesperson also said, per the Journal, that the Russian doctors, "of course, didn’t make the decision, but the Kremlin did."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Texas arrests midwife on felony abortion charges
Speed Read Maria Margarita Rojas and an employee at one of her clinics are the first to be criminally charged under Texas' near-total abortion ban
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
South Carolina to execute prisoner by firing squad
speed read Death row inmate Brad Sigmon prefers the squad over the electric chair or lethal injection, his lawyer said
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Mexico extradites 29 cartel figures amid US tariff threat
Speed Read The extradited suspects include Rafael Caro Quintero, long sought after killing a US narcotics agent
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Leonard Peltier released from prison
Speed Read The Native American activist convicted of killing two FBI agents had his life sentence commuted by former President Joe Biden
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Ex-Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years
Speed Read The former New Jersey senator was convicted on federal bribery and corruption charges last year
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Police ID driver of exploded Cybertruck, can't see motive
Speed Read An Army Green Beret detonated a homemade bomb in a Tesla Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Teenage girl kills 2 in Wisconsin school shooting
Speed Read 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow fatally shot a teacher and student at Abundant Life Christian School
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Penny acquitted in NYC subway choking death
Speed Read Daniel Penny was found not guilty of homicide in the 2023 choking death of Jordan Neely
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published