Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny standing inside a glass cell during his trial in Moscow at the end of February. /Babushkinsky district court/AFP
International leaders and representatives, including U.S. President Joe Biden and the foreign ministers of France and Germany, are calling for Russia to urgently take action to save the life of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who doctors say is at risk of dying of cardiac arrest due to being on hunger strike since March 31.
Biden described the worsening conditions of the Kremlin dissident as "totally, totally unfair" and "totally inappropriate." The U.S. has also warned Russia that there will be "consequences" if the dissident dies.
"We urgently demand that Alexei Navalny receive adequate medical treatment and access to doctors he trusts," said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, after his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian called the "authoritarian drift in Russia" an "extremely concerning" situation.
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Talking to German reporters, Maas added that EU foreign ministers will discuss Navalny's situation at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday, while Le Drian has warned that the EU might impose additional sanctions to the already existing package.
On Sunday, Russian ambassador in London Andre Kelin told the BBC that Navalny "will not be allowed to die in prison," adding that "he behaves like a hooligan."
Navalny, who has been in prison since February and is serving two-and-a-half years on embezzlement charges, started his hunger strike to demand proper medical treatment after reporting back pain and numbness in his legs and hands while in detention.
Russian police officers guard the entrance to the penal colony N2, where Navalny is serving a two-and-a-half year prison term for violating parole. /Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP
On Saturday, doctor Yaroslav Ashikhmin wrote on Facebook that Navalny "can die any minute," pointing to the patient's high potassium levels at 7.1 millimole per liter, higher than the level of 6.0 which usually requires immediate treatment.
Navalny's team has called for a mass protest across Russia next week, saying it could be "modern Russia's biggest protest." Street demonstrations could symbolically start shortly after President Vladimir Putin is set to deliver his state of nation address on Wednesday.