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Berlin's Charite clinic: Alexei Navalny still in coma, condition is not life-threatening

Clinical findings indicate poisoning with a substance from the group of cholinesterase inhibitors, according to the hospital
Berlin’s Charite clinic where Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is being treated Vyacheslav Filippov/TASS
Berlin’s Charite clinic where Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is being treated
© Vyacheslav Filippov/TASS

BERLIN, August 24./TASS/. Alexei Navalny, who was airlifted to Germany for medical treatment on Saturday, is still in a medically induced coma, long-term effects to the nervous system cannot be excluded, Berlin’s Charite clinic said in a statement circulated on Monday.

"Clinical findings indicate poisoning with a substance from the group of cholinesterase inhibitors," the hospital said in its statement.

"While his condition is serious, it is not currently life-threatening," the clinic said.

"The specific substance involved remains unknown," it added. "Alexei Navalny’s prognosis remains unclear; the possibility of long-term effects, particularly those affecting the nervous system, cannot be excluded," it stressed. The patient "is now being treated with the antidote atropine," the clinic specified.

On August 20, Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said that the plane carrying the Russian blogger made an emergency landing in Omsk after he suddenly felt under the weather in mid-flight. Navalny was rushed to a hospital while being in a coma and was connected to a ventilator.

On Saturday, he was airlifted to Berlin.