Moscow: Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is in a coma and on a ventilator in a hospital intensive care unit after falling ill from suspected poisoning that his allies believe is linked to his political activity. The 44-year-old foe of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin felt unwell on a flight back to Moscow from Tomsk, a city in Siberia, and was taken to a hospital after the plane made an emergency landing in Omsk, Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on Twitter.
She told the Echo Moskvy radio station he must have consumed something from the tea he drank at an airport cafe before boarding the plane on Thursday. During the flight, Navalny started sweating and asked her to talk to him so that he could focus on a sound of a voice.” He then went to the bathroom and lost consciousness. (AP)