Putin Critic, Alexei Navalny, Released from Hospital

Rita Osakwe

Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was released from a Berlin hospital on Wednesday, after 32 days of treatment for poisoning. Navalny, a politician and corruption investigator who is Putin’s most visible opponent, was flown to Germany two days after falling ill on August 20 on a domestic flight in Russia.

He spent two days in a coma in a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk, where Russian doctors said they found no trace of any poisoning.

But German chemical weapons experts have determined that he was poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent, Novichok. Laboratories in France and Sweden also confirmed the poison used was Novichok. The Kremlin has denied any involvement.

A statement from the hospital said that 44-year-old Mr Navalny had spent 32 days there, including 24 days in intensive care.

Navalny posted a picture of himself standing unaided with a message saying doctors had given him every chance of a full recovery.

“Based on the patient’s progress and current condition, the treating physicians believe that complete recovery is possible. However, it remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning,” the Charité hospital said.

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