Jailed Kremlin critic Navalny says he is being prevented from sleeping, calls it torture

MOSCOW: Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said in statement passed to his lawyers on Thursday (Mar 25) that he was being prevented from sleeping by prison guards, a practice he likened to torture.

He also said he had asked prison authorities to let a civilian doctor visit him in jail because of serious pain he was experiencing, but said he had been refused.

One of his lawyers said earlier on Thursday that Navalny had been experiencing health problems for several weeks in jail.

Speaking to the TV Rain TV channel after visiting him in prison, lawyer Olga Mikhailova said Navalny had undergone an MRI scan but had not been told the results.

"In my opinion, he is in bad shape health-wise because he is experiencing severe pain in his back and in his right leg," she said. "One of his legs practically doesn't work."

She said appeals by his legal team for Navalny to be given the necessary medicine were ignored for four weeks.