Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February this year. "His condition is indeed critical," said Alexandra Zakharova, a representative of the Doctors Alliance trade union - a group that Russian authorities regard as opposition activists. Russia jailed Navalny for two-and-a-half years in February for parole violations he said were trumped up. Prison authorities say they have offered Navalny proper treatment, but that he has refused it and insists he should be treated by a doctor of his choice from outside the facility, a request they have declined. Navalny said on Friday that prison authorities had threatened to put him in a straitjacket to force-feed him unless he abandons his hunger strike.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 17, 2021 12:45 UTC