'Poisoned' Russian opposition activist leaves hospital for treatment abroad

A well-known Russian opposition activist who was left in a crucial condition this month following an apparent poisoning has now left Russia for therapy abroad, his lawyer mentioned. The case of Vladimir Kara-Murza attracted international focus and condemnation...

24 February 2017 Friday 17:00
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'Poisoned' Russian opposition activist leaves hospital for treatment abroad

A well-known Russian opposition activist who was left in a crucial condition this month following an apparent poisoning has now left Russia for therapy abroad, his lawyer mentioned.

The case of Vladimir Kara-Murza attracted international focus and condemnation on Capitol Hill earlier this month when he was rushed to the hospital – poisoned, his doctors mentioned, with an unknown substance.

It was the second time in two years that Kara-Murza – a veteran critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin – has been poisoned, and his colleagues have recommended it ought to be linked to his activism.

This time Kara-Murza spent a week in crucial condition, on life support and kept in an artificial coma as doctors sought to clean his bloodstream of what ever could be poisoning him. Final week, he regained consciousness and on Sunday, Kara-Murza’s lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov, said that the activist was now getting transferred abroad for rehabilitation.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Prokhorov did not say exactly where Kara-Murza was becoming transferred to, only saying it was “abroad."

As for the duration of the 1st time, Kara-Murza’s medical doctors have been unable to say what he had been poisoned with or even to obtain any trace of it. The diagnosis at the moment is simply “acute intoxication by an unknown substance”, his wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza, mentioned.

Samples deneme bonusu of his skin, nails and hair have been sent for testing by toxicology laboratories abroad, she said. Prior tests two years ago were unable to recognize the poison, although a French lab found traces of heavy metals in his bloodstream.

The motive for the poisoning is also murky. Evgenia Kara-Murza believes it will have to be linked to her husband’s activism, but does not know what it could be specifically.

But in Sunday’s statement, Kara-Murza’s lawyer said he had pledged that he would not quit his opposition function in spite Betsmove of the poisoning: “He definitely will continue to do what he has accomplished all these final years: activity directed towards the restoration of democracy in Russia.”

The case had attracted certain interest in the U.S. since it happened to coincide with a Fox News Super Bowl interview with president Donald Trump in which he indicated he was unphased by the thought that Putin was “a killer”.

Asked by Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly why he respected Putin because the Russian president was “a killer”, Trump replied: “We have a lot of killers as well. What you consider our country is so innocent.”

Those comments prompted angry criticisms from some Democrats and Republicans who said Trump was equating the U.S. with the authoritarian tactics applied beneath Putin.

Sen. John McCain took to the house floor on Feb. 7 to condemn Vladimir Kara-Murza's poisoning and implicitly President Trump's comments.

"Vladimir knew there was no moral equivalence between the United States and Putin’s Russia," McCain mentioned of Vladimir Kara-Murza. "And any person who would make such a suggestion maligns the character of our fantastic nation and does a disservice to all those whose blood is on Putin’s hands.”

Some have recommended that Kara-Murza’s poisoning could be linked to his involvement in a campaign to promote American sanctions legislation. He played a important function in lobbying Congress to pass the Magnitsky Act, a blacklist that targets Russian officials involved in the murder and its cover-up of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who was killed by Russian police following he uncovered a massive tax fraud scheme linked to the best levels of the Russian state.

Kara-Murza had appeared repeatedly just before Congress urging it to pass the legislation that was later broadened to consist of all human rights abusers in Russia.

On Sunday, Kara-Murza’s lawyer said that his operate around the Magnitsky Act was deemed 1 of prospective lead to of the poisoning. In his statement, the lawyer said Kara-Murza would continue to function on the Magnitsky Act.

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