Putin critic Alexei Navalny in coma after 'drinking poisoned tea'
A vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin remains in hospital after drinking tea believed to be laced with poison.
Alexei Navalny, a fierce critic of Mr Putin and his lieutenants and leader of the opposition, began feeling ill on a plane to Moscow on Thursday morning (local time) after drinking tea at an airport cafe in the Siberian city of Tomsk.
If confirmed, it would be the latest in a long series of poisonings and suspected poisonings of people who have fallen out with the Kremlin, which denies settling scores with its foes by murdering them.
His condition became so serious that the plane made an emergency landing at the city of Omsk, en route to Moscow, where he was carried off on a stretcher.
Kira Yarmysh, his spokeswoman, said he was in intensive care in a serious but stable condition, and on an artificial lung ventilator in a hospital in the city, about 2,200 km east of the Russian capital.
"We assume that Alexei was poisoned with something mixed into his tea. It was the only thing that he drank in the morning. Alexei is now unconscious," Ms Yarmysh said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any poisoning would need to be confirmed by laboratory tests and doctors were doing everything they could to help Mr Navalny. He wished him a speedy recovery.
The incident coincides with a political crisis in Belarus, a close Russian ally, and comes ahead of regional Russian elections next month.
Some anti-Kremlin protesters in Russia's far east have started chanting "Long live Belarus!" in support of the protesters in Minsk, 9,000 km to the west.
"Putin is scared," an EU diplomat, who declined to be named, said.
"He is sending a message to his own people not to try do at home what they see on TV from Belarus."
US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House his administration was looking at the matter when asked about the situation.
Doctors gave contradictory information about Mr Navalny's condition, saying it had stabilised and he was in a coma, but also there was still a threat to his life and they were working to save him.
Mr Navalny's wife Yulia flew from Moscow to be with him. Ms Yarmysh said hospital officials had so far prevented Mr Navalny's personal doctor, who had also flown in, from seeing him.
Doctors were also refusing to discharge him so he could be flown to Europe for emergency treatment, she said. The hospital said his condition meant he could not be moved for now.
Germany and France offered to provide Mr Navalny medical care.
An air ambulance with a team specialised in treating coma patients was due to leave Germany to pick up Mr Navalny on Thursday evening, the Berlin-based Cinema for Peace Foundation said.
‘Screaming in pain’
Pavel Lebedev, a passenger on the flight with Mr Navalny, posted an account of what he saw on social media.
"At the start of the flight he went to the toilet and didn't come back. He started feeling really sick. They struggled to bring him round and he was screaming in pain,” Mr Lebedev said.
Footage on social media showed a motionless Navalny being stretchered into an ambulance by medics after the emergency landing in Omsk.
The airline, S7, said Navalny had started feeling very ill soon after take-off and the captain had decided to make an emergency landing. He had not eaten or drunk anything on board, it said.
Navalny had a cup of tea at a Tomsk airport cafe before boarding his flight, Yarmysh said.
She drew a parallel with an incident last year in which Navalny suffered an acute allergic reaction that one doctor said could have resulted from poisoning with an unknown chemical.
British foreign minister Dominic Raab said he was deeply concerned, as did Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius.
"If (poisoning is) confirmed, those responsible must face consequences," Mr Linkevicius said on Twitter.
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