Alexei Navalny: Putin critic arrives in Germany for medical treatment
The acutely ill Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has arrived in Germany from Siberia for treatment.
He is in a coma after drinking what his supporters suspect was poisoned tea; they accuse the authorities of trying to conceal a crime.
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Doctors treating him in Omsk had insisted on Friday that he was too ill to be moved.
But they later said his condition was stable enough for the flight. His wife Yulia is travelling with him.
On Saturday morning, Mr Navalny's medical evacuation flight - paid for by the German non-governmental organisation Cinema for Peace - landed at Tegel airport in Berlin. He is being treated at the Charité hospital in the German capital.
The founder of the Cinema for Peace Foundation, activist and filmmaker Jaka Bizilj, told reporters outside the hospital that Mr Navalny's condition was "very worrying".
"It's not only about the question if he will survive this," he said. "It's a question what kind of damage there is, if he will survive this and come back to normal fully."
Mr Navalny's personal doctor, Anastasia Vasilieva, was not allowed to see him while he was in hospital in Russia. But she said she was hopeful he could recover now that he was in Germany.
"I'm sure that they can treat him and do everything to eliminate this toxic agent from his body."
Medical staff treating Mr Navalny at the hospital in Omsk said before his flight that his life was not in immediate danger.
Mr Navalny's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, earlier tweeted: "Massive thanks to everyone for their support. The struggle for Alexei's life and health is just beginning."
Ms Yarmysh said it was a pity that doctors had taken so long to approve his flight as the plane and the right documents had been ready since Friday morning.
Mr Navalny fell ill during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow on Thursday, and his plane made an emergency landing in Omsk.
A photograph on social media appeared to show him drinking from a cup at a Tomsk airport cafe before the flight. His team suspects a poisonous substance was put in his tea.
Disturbing video appeared to show a stricken Mr Navalny howling in agony on the flight. Passenger Pavel Lebedev said he had heard the activist "screaming in pain".
