Navalny to be moved to hospital in another prison, officials say

Authorities announced on Monday that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny will be transferred to a hospital in another prison, three weeks after he began a hunger strike to receive medical care for health problems he claimed were being ignored.

The Associated Press reports that the Russian prison system, FSIN, said in a statement that Navalny, 44, would be transferred to a hospital for convicts located in a penal colony in Vladimir, which is around 100 miles east of Moscow.

The statement added that Navalny’s condition has been deemed “satisfactory” and that he has agreed to receive vitamin therapy.

This announcement comes two days after Navalny’s doctor, Yaroslav Ashikhmin, said the opposition leader “could die at any moment” based on tests results from Navalny’s family that indicated his kidneys were failing and that he was at high risk of cardiac arrest.

In response to the reports of Navalny’s deteriorating health, his allies called for massive protests on Wednesday. The AP notes that these protests would take place on the same day Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to give his annual state of the nation address.

Navalny’s poisoning with a Soviet-era nerve agent and imprisonment has become a point of contention among international observers, with President Biden issuing sanctions against Russia over Navalny. On Sunday, Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, warned that “there will be consequences” if Navalny dies.

“We have communicated to the Russian government that what happens to Mr. Navalny in their custody is their responsibility and they will be held accountable by the international community,” Sullivan said. “In terms of the specific measures that we would undertake, we are looking at a variety of different costs that we would impose. And I’m not going to telegraph that publicly at this point, but we have communicated that there will be consequences if Mr. Navalny dies.”