Berlin, August 22: The Russian government, in the wee hours of Saturday, allowed the special German flight to fly back with Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader who is in a medically "unstable" condition. Germany had offered to treat him after Navalny's condition was reported to have deteriorated. Who Is Alexei Navalny? Profile of 'Poisoned' Russian Opposition Leader Known For Fierce Criticism of Vladimir Putin.

Navalny, 44, was rushed to the Siberian hospital in Omsk city after he was allegedly poisoned. The lawyer-cum-politician was sent to coma shortly after being admitted to the medical facility on August 20.

While the medics denied that he was poisoned, reports claimed that the information was being concealed to prevent flak against President Vladimir Putin.

Update by AFP

Watch Video: Navalny in State of Coma After 'Poisoning'

According to Navalny's spokeswoman, he was "poisoned" as part of a conspiracy to assassinate him. In a statement issued to international news agencies, she claimed that the Russian government was deliberately preventing the air ambulance from Germany to fly back with Navalny as they allegedly want to minimise his chances of survival.

Navalny, who was elected as the leader of Russian opposition council in 2012, has been jailed on several occasions for anti-Putin agitations. He also attempted to call for a mass boycott of the recent elections, which granted Putin the legal mandate to continue to remain in Office till 2036. The poll results were called as a "huge lie" by Navalny.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 22, 2020 08:39 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).