Deputies of several regional parliaments have published an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin demanding that doctors be immediately allowed to examine and treat politician Alexei Navalny, who has been on a hunger strike in Penal Colony 2 in the town of Pokrov, Vladimir Oblast, since March 31.
"Political prisoner Alexei Navalny’s health condition threatens his life. He is not provided with effectual treatment measures. We demand Alexei Navalny’s examination and treatment by doctors of his voluntary choice and Navalny’s admission to a civilian medical institution that corresponds to the severity of his health condition," the appeal says.
The letter claims that what is happening to Navalny is regarded as an attempt on the politician’s life motivated by personal and political hatred:
"Alexei Navalny’s life in Russia, including in places of deprivation of liberty, is a personal responsibility of you, the President of the Russian Federation, — to Navalny, his family, and the whole world".
The deputies also demanded to review and overturn all court judgements on criminal and administrative cases decreed on political grounds and immediately release all political prisoners in Russia.
11 deputies have signed the document: Darya Besedina, Evgeny Bunimovich, Maxim Kruglov, Sergei Mitrokhin, Evgeny Stupin, and Mikhail Timonov from the Moscow City Duma; Boris Vishnevsky and Maxim Reznik from the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg; Emilia Slabunova from the Karelian Legislative Assembly; Artur Gaiduk and Lev Shlosberg from the Pskov Assembly of Deputies. Anyone can sign the letter.
Alexei Navalny went on a hunger strike in the colony on March 31, demanding an independent doctor’s help. The politician has been complaining of pain in his back and legs for several weeks. The Federal Penitentiary Service claims that Navalny receives all the necessary medical care and prison doctors assess his condition as satisfactory.
On April 15, Navalny's doctors reported a “rapid worsening” of the prisoner's tests. According to their estimates, the politician's condition is close to critical and threatens to be fatal. They demanded that the director of the Federal Penitentiary Service Alexander Kalashnikov urgently allow them to examine and treat the politician.
More than 70 Western artists have also signed an open letter, which demands allowing doctors to examine and treat Navalny, to Vladimir Putin.
