Hospital: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is out of a medically induced coma

(Image credit: Vasily Maximov/AFP via Getty Images)

published 8 September 2020

After being placed in a medically induced coma, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is "being weaned off mechanical ventilation" and is "responding to verbal stimuli," Berlin's Charité Hospital announced on Monday.

Last week, the German government said tests showed "unequivocal evidence" that a "chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group" was used to poison Navalny, a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Charité Hospital said it "remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects" of Navalny's "severe poisoning."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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