MOSCOW — Russian opposition politician
Alexei Navalny said
on Friday he would begin gradually ending a hunger strike that he declared in
prison on March 31 to demand proper medical care for leg and back pain.
اضافة اعلان
In an Instagram post, the fierce critic of President
Vladimir Putin said that he still demanded that he be seen by a doctor of his
own choosing and that he was losing feeling in parts of his legs and arms.
He said, however, that he had been twice seen by civilian
doctors. He added it would take him 24 days to gradually end the hunger strike
and thanked the "good people" in Russia and around the world for
their support.
"Thank you - I have now been examined twice by a panel
of civilian doctors. The last time was just before the rally. They are doing
tests and analyses and giving me the results and conclusions," he wrote.
"I am not withdrawing my request to allow the necessary
doctor to see me - I am losing feeling in areas of my arms and legs, and I want
to understand what it is and how to treat it, but considering the progress and
all the circumstances, I am beginning to come out of the hunger strike,"
he wrote.
Navalny is the principal focus of opposition to Putin, and
his failing health after three weeks on hunger strike had drawn expressions of
alarm from Western governments. Thousands of his supporters protested in cities
all across Russia on Wednesday.
The United States had warned Moscow it would face
"consequences" if he died.
Navalny survived a poison attack with a nerve agent last
year, which Russia denied carrying out.
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