MOSCOW (Reuters) – Imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said Monday he had a high temperature and a bad cough and that three of the 15 inmates at his Russian prison were being treated at the hospital for tuberculosis.
Navalny, 44, a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, went on a hunger strike last week to protest what he said the refusal of prison authorities provided him with adequate medical care for acute back pain. and legs.
His allies said they would hold a continuous protest outside the jail from Tuesday, unless examined by a doctor of his choice and given what they consider appropriate medicine.
State media outlets and some members of a prison watchdog group have accused him of falsifying his medical problems to stay in public view, something Navalny and his allies deny.
On Monday, Navalny said a third person in his ward had been taken to hospital with tuberculosis, which had a high temperature and cough, and joked darkly that catching the disease could offer relief from his other illnesses.
“If I have tuberculosis, I may lose my back pain and numbness in my legs. It would be good, “he wrote on Instagram.
“I quote the official statistics of today’s temperature measurement:” Navalny AA, bad cough, temperature 38.1, “he wrote in a post on Instagram, adding that he planned to continue the hunger strike.
A temperature above 38 degrees Celsius (100.58 degrees Fahrenheit) most often indicates fever caused by an infection or disease.
Navalny’s lawyers have visited him regularly in custody and helped him continue to post on social media.
Authorities at the IK-2 Correctional Criminal Colony, 100 km (60 miles) east of Moscow, where the opposition politician is detained, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on an outbreak of tuberculosis or Navalny temperature and cough.
They have previously said that his condition was satisfactory and that he has been provided with all necessary medical care.
Anastasiya Vasilyeva, a doctor and ally of Navalny, confirmed that plans for a protest would take place on Tuesday.
Additional reports by Vladmir Soldatkin and Polina Nikolskaya; Timothy Heritage Edition