Shaun Walker: Russian opposition leader ill after exposure to 'undefined chemical

By Dilip -
Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has been hospitalised, with symptoms that one of his doctors said appeared to be “the result of harmful effects of undefined chemical substances”. Navalny was taken to hospital on Sunday morning from jail, where he was serving a 30-day sentence after being arrested last week for calling people to attend an anti-government protest.

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The protest went ahead on Saturday, and prompted the most forceful police response to protests in the country for years, with more than 1,300 people detained by officers. People were protesting against the refusal of electoral authorities to register independent candidates for the Moscow city council elections in September. Although there was no sign that his life is in immediate danger, the news about Navalny’s health will cause alarm, in a country where opposition politician Boris Nemtsov was shot dead outside the Kremlin in 2015. On Sunday morning, Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said he had suffered a “severe allergic reaction”, and added that he had never complained of allergies before. She said Navalny had suffered “severe swelling of the face and skin redness”. .. read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/28/russian-opposition-calls-for-more-protests-after-mass-arrests

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