A handout image made available on the official website of Aleksei Navalny shows the opposition leader sitting on a hospital bed in Moscow on July 29.
The head of a Russian medical center says laboratory tests performed on unspecified biomaterial taken from opposition politician Aleksei Navalny have excluded poisoning as a reason for his recent hospitalization.
Aleksei Tokarev, chief physician of the Moscow Sklifosovsky Medical Center, said on July 31 that Navalny’s samples had been delivered to the center’s lab on July 29 and that the results state "no substances that could cause poisoning have been found."
The Kremlin critic, who is currently serving a 30-day jail sentence for calling a protest last weekend where almost 1,400 people were detained by police, was taken to hospital late on July 28 with severe swelling of the face and a rash, sparking fears he had been the victim of a poisoning attempt, though hospital officials characterized the illness as "a generalized allergic reaction."
Moscow Opposition Rally Turns Violent As Police Detain Protesters
1/22Russian police move into position ahead of the protest rally, which had been called for by opposition politician Aleksei Navalny.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
2/22There was a huge police presence on the streets of Moscow before the planned protest, which had not been sanctioned by authorities.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
3/22A woman remonstrates with police who seemed intent on ensuring crowds could not gather at the proposed protest site near the Moscow mayor's office.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
4/22A woman shows her ID to police officers, who were criticized by one civil rights activist for randomly stopping and detaining people "for no reason."
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
5/22Police officers formed a cordon to face up to the demonstrators.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
6/22When law enforcement moved in to disperse the protesters, many in the crowd could be heard singing the Russian national anthem. Others chanted "We are unarmed," "Fair elections now," and "Russia will be free!"
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
7/22As the situation became increasingly fraught, protesters attempted to remove fences and barriers set up by police.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
9/22There were scuffles as officers attempted to detain demonstrators.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
10/22Altogether, more than 1,000 people were detained by police.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
21/22A detained protester looks out from the barred window of a police van.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
22/22Some of the protesters needed medical assistance for the injuries they sustained.
Police in Moscow detained and beat opposition politicians, along with protesters, in an attempt to disperse a July 27 demonstration against the refusal by officials to register several dissident figures as candidates in municipal elections.
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Navalny was released from the hospital a day later and transferred back to jail and has said he shares the suspicions of his lawyer and his personal doctor that he may have been poisoned in prison.
Doctor Anastasia Vasilyeva said she has taken Navalny's hair and clothing samples for independent testing, as well as calling for any video from internal cameras in the jail where the 43-year-old was being held.
Navalny’s lawyer, Olga Mikhailova, said on July 29 that she was asking for the court to terminate the case “due to the lack of evidence or to terminate his administrative arrest due to his poor health condition."
The rally on July 27 took place in protest of Moscow election officials who have refused to register several independent and opposition candidates to run in the September 8 vote to the 45-seat Moscow City Duma legislature.
The municipal legislature has oversight over Moscow's $43 billion budget, the largest of any city in the country.
The United States, the European Union, Canada, and human-rights groups have denounced what they called the "disproportionate” and “indiscriminate” use of force against the demonstrators.
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