The health of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny has continued to improve and he has been removed from mechanical ventilation, the Charite clinic in Berlin said Monday, adding that he is already able to leave his bed.
On 7 September, the clinic said in a press release that Navalny had been removed from a medically induced coma and was being weaned off mechanical ventilation. The clinic added that he could respond to speech, but was unable to say what long-term effects his "severe poisoning" could have.
Germany claimed earlier this month that Navalny's condition was the result of poisoning by a nerve agent from the Novichok group. Earlier in the day, Berlin announced that three independent tests by German, French, and Swedish laboratories had confirmed the 44-year-old man had traces of the chemical agent in his system.
Navalny's alleged poisoning has prompted some officials in Europe and other Western countries to call for sanctions against Russia over the matter, although Moscow's role has in no way been substantiated or even clearly stated.
Russia has repeatedly called on Germany to share its case materials with Russia so that the situation can be clarified.
Navalny, 44, fell gravely ill while on a flight from Siberia to Moscow on 20 August. He was placed in a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk, where the plane made an emergency landing. Two days later, Navalny was transported to the Berlin-based Charite clinic for further treatment. Moscow said Russian doctors found no toxic substances before he was transported to Germany.
