Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who fell into a coma after a suspected poisoning, landed in Germany for treatment Saturday following a day-long standoff over whether he would be allowed to leave a Russian hospital.
Navalny remains in a coma but is in stable condition Jaka Bizilj, of the German NGO Cinema For Peace, which arranged the flight out of Russia, told The Associated Press. “Navalny is in Berlin,” Bizilj said. “He survived the flight and he’s stable.”
He landed around 9 a.m. Berlin time and was taken to the downtown campus of Berlin’s Charite hospital.
A stretcher is taken from special aircraft with the Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on board at Tegel Airport in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Aug.22, 2020. The Russian opposition member has been in a coma since Thursday and is on artificial respiration. ( Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP)
The dissident has promoted opposition candidates to Russian President Vladimir Putin since he was kept from running against the longtime leader in 2018’s presidential election.
He fell ill Thursday while on a flight to Moscow and was taken to a Siberian hospital following an emergency landing. His allies suspect tea he was drinking was poisoned by someone linked to Putin.
Navalny was first OK’d to be transferred to a Berlin hospital Friday, but when the German plane equipped with medical supplies arrived, his Russian doctors said he was too fragile to travel, leading supporters to believe his transfer was delayed for political reasons — until any poison would be untraceable in his system.
German police officers stand in front of the emergency entrance of the Charite hospital where Alexei Navalny is expected to arrive in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Aug.22, 2020. The dissident who is in a coma after a suspected poisoning has been transferred from the Siberian city of Omsk. Navalny is flown to Germany to receive treatment. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
The Omsk medical team finally relented after Cinema For Peace revealed that German doctors examined the politician and said he was fit to be transported.
Navalny’s spokesperson confirmed his departure to Germany on Twitter on Saturday. He left just after 8 a.m. local time.
“Alexei’s plane has taken off for Berlin,” Kira Yarmysh tweeted, according to BBC News. “Massive thanks to everyone for their support. The struggle for Alexei’s life and health is just beginning.”
Deputy chief doctor of the Omsk hospital Anatoly Kalinichenko told reporters that Navalny’s condition had stabilized and that physicians “didn’t mind” transferring the politician, given that his relatives were willing “to take on the risks.”
Alexander Murakhovksy, head doctor of a hospital in Omsk, said Navalny had been diagnosed with a metabolic disease that may have been caused by low blood sugar, and did not believe that Navalny had been poisoned, Reuters reported.
The Kremlin has denied involvement in the incident but it wouldn’t be the first time Putin has been accused of poisoning or murdering someone he sees as a threat.
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A Kremlin spokesperson said the delay was a medical decision but the decision to allow him to fly to Berlin came as international pressure grew.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.