Russia: Leader Alexei Navalny poisoned on flight, slips into coma

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Russian leader Alexei Navalny (Image: Instagram/abcnews)
Russian leader Alexei Navalny (Image: Instagram/abcnews)

Moscow : Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was allegedly poisoned on a flight to Moscow and he has now slipped into coma, said his spokesperson on Thursday. The leader is currently admitted in a Siberian hospital and is on a ventilator support.

According to a report, he had drunk a cup of coffee and soon after that he complained of severe discomfort and fell unconscious. The flight had to make emergency landing thereafter.

"We assume that Alexei was poisoned with something mixed into the tea. It was the only thing that he drank in the morning. Doctors say the toxin was absorbed faster through the hot liquid," his spokesperson Kira Yarmysh told reporters, adding that he was unconscious and in “serious condition”.

This is not the first time when Alexei has been poisoned; last year in July he was poisoned and had suffered skin allergy. He had also endured chemical burns to his eye in 2017 when attackers threw a green antiseptic at his face outside his office.