GERMAN LAWMAKERS SAY NAVALNY TREATMENT IS ‘TARGETED TORTURE’

Members of the foreign affairs committee in the German parliament have described the treatment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as "targeted torture," Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

In a letter to Navalny himself, the lawmakers said they stood in solidarity with him and were following his case closely.

"We consider the treatment of yourself to be targeted torture and therefore against the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment," the letter read.

The letter, published online by one of its signatories, called for Navalny's case to be investigated at the European level. The opposition politician - the most prominent rival to longtime President Vladimir Putin - narrowly survived an assassination attempt with the nerve agent Novichok in the summer.

In February, he was sentenced to several years in prison for violating his probation terms while he recovered from the poisoning in a much-criticized trial. His health had deteriorated further in the past week, according to his lawyer.

Navalny was losing feeling in his hands, Olga Mikhailova told the independent internet television station Dozhd on Wednesday. Earlier, Navalny had complained of severe back pain and lack of movement in one leg, as well as coughing. An MRI scan had also diagnosed two hernias - a so-called abdominal wall hernia.

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