Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been discharged from hospital after more than a month of treatment in Germany for his near-fatal poisoning with Novichok, Berlin’s Charité hospital said Wednesday.
Navalny, 44, was flown to Germany two days after falling violently ill on a flight in Siberia on Aug. 20. Germany says it has evidence backed by French and Swedish scientists that the fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin was poisoned by a Novichok nerve agent, while Russia denies that he was poisoned.
Charité said Navalny was discharged from inpatient care on Tuesday after 32 days of treatment, 24 of which were spent in intensive care.
“Based on the patient’s progress and current condition, the treating physicians believe that complete recovery is possible,” the hospital said.
Charité reiterated its previous assertions that “it remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning.”
Following the news of his discharging Wednesday, the Kremlin said Navalny is free to return to Moscow, «like any other Russian citizen.»
In keeping with the Kremlin’s tradition of not using Navalny’s name, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he would welcome news that «the patient really is getting better,» and wished him «a speedy recovery.»
Russia maintains that Navalny was not poisoned but either had a metabolic disease or low blood sugar.
When urged to investigate the Aug. 20 incident, Russian officials complained that Germany hadn’t shared its findings and that Navalny’s aides took potential evidence out of the country.
Navalny May Have Poisoned Himself, Putin Reportedly Tells Macron
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny may have poisoned himself with Novichok, Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told French President Emmanuel Macron in a recent phone call.
Navalny, 44, who came out of a coma two weeks ago after falling violently ill on a flight in Siberia, mocked Putin’s reported claims as illogical. Germany says it has evidence backed by French and Swedish scientists that Putin’s fierce critic was poisoned by a Novichok nerve agent.
The French daily Le Monde reported, citing unnamed sources, that Putin suggested to Macron that Navalny may have poisoned himself with Novichok for an unspecified reason.
In the two leaders’ Sept. 14 phone call, Putin reportedly referred to his foe as an “internet troublemaker who has simulated illnesses in the past.”
Russia maintains that Navalny was not poisoned. When urged to investigate the Aug. 20 incident, Russian officials complained that Germany hadn’t shared its findings and that Navalny’s aides took potential evidence out of the country.
Navalny reacted ironically to the Le Monde report, writing on Instagram that his “cunning plan” was to “cook Novichok in the kitchen, sip it quietly on a plane … die in an Omsk hospital and end up in an Omsk morgue, where my cause of death would be established as ‘he lived enough.’”
“But Putin outplayed me,” Navalny joked. “In the end, I spent 18 days in a coma like an idiot and didn’t get what I wanted.”
On Monday, Navalny demanded that the clothes he was wearing at the time of his illness be packed and sent to Germany as key evidence.
In a video address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Macron demanded a “swift and flawless” explanation from Russia regarding Navalny’s poisoning, calling the use of chemical weapons a “red line.”
