German doctors see ‘improvement’ in Russian opposition leader Navalny’s condition
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Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who remains in a medically-induced coma after what his supporters suspect was a poisoning, is facing no serious threat to his life and his condition is improving, his spokeswoman said on Friday.
Navalny, 44, was airlifted to Germany a week ago after collapsing during a flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow. He is in a medically-induced coma in a Berlin hospital.
Germany would be ready to impose diplomatic sanctions against Russia if it concludes that Russian state agencies were behind the poisoning of a critic of President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Friday.
“Concerning Russia’s readiness to clear up the case of (Alexei) Navalny we will act like we did in the case of the Tiergarten murder,” Maas said, referring to Germany’s expulsion of Russian embassy employees over Moscow’s lack of cooperation in a probe into the murder of a Georgian man in a Berlin park.
Russian prosecutors said on Thursday they saw no need for a criminal investigation into the sudden illness of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who his supporters suspect was poisoned, as they had found no sign that any crime had been committed.
The Interior Ministry said it had started a preliminary investigation into the case, but this was routine.
The hospital said its initial medical examination pointed to poisoning, though Russian doctors who had treated Navalny in a Siberian hospital have contradicted that diagnosis.
The Kremlin has so far defied calls from Germany, the United States and other powers to investigate the circumstances around Navalny’s illness, saying there is no reason to do so until poisoning is definitively confirmed.
While a statement by the Russian Prosecutor General’s office said it did not see the need for an investigation, it said German authorities have agreed to cooperate with Russia on the case. The office said it had asked Germany to share information about Navalny’s treatment and promised to give some back in exchange.
