Reports suggest that he was poisoned.
Pyotr Verzilov, one of the Pussy Riot activists who stormed the pitch during the World Cup final has been hospitalised, and is said to be fighting for his life.
His partner, Veronika Nikulshina, told Meduza that he’s started losing his sight, speech, and mobility.
She said: “Between eight and ten, his condition got exponentially worse. First it was his vision, then his ability to speak, and then his ability to walk.”
“When the paramedics arrived, he answered all their questions, saying, ‘No, I didn’t eat anything. No, I didn’t take anything.’
“He was getting worse even faster, and then he started convulsing. On the way [to the hospital], in the ambulance, he was already babbling. He fell into such a half-asleep, half-unconscious state that he stopped responding to me and didn’t even recognize me anymore.”
He has since been transferred to the toxicology wing of Moscow’s Bakhrushin City Clinical Hospital.
Pussy Riot invaded the pitch during the World Cup, and posted a cryptic message to their Facebook page afterwards.
“Just a few minutes ago four Pussy Riot members performed in the FIFA World Cup final match. Today is 11 years since the death of the great Russian poet, Dmitriy Prigov. Prigov created an image of a policeman, a carrier of the heavenly nationhood, in the Russian culture.”
“The heavenly policeman, according to Prigov, talks on the two-way with the God Himself. The earthly policeman gets ready to disperse rallies.
“The heavenly policeman gently touches a flower in a field and enjoys Russian football team victories, while the earthly policeman feels indifferent to Oleg Sentsov’s hunger strike. The heavenly policeman rises as an example of the nationhood, the earthly policeman hurts everyone.
“The heavenly policeman protects baby’s sleep, the earthly policeman persecutes political prisoners, imprisons people for “reposts” and “likes”.
“The heavenly policeman is the organizer of this World Cup’s beautiful carnival, the earthy policeman is afraid of the celebration. The heavenly policeman carefully watches for obeying the game rules, the earthly policeman enters the game not caring about the rules.
“The FIFA World Cup has reminded us of the possibilities of the heavenly policeman in the Great Russia of the future, but the earthly policeman, entering the ruleless game breaks our world apart.
“When the earthly policeman enters the game, we demand to:
1. Let all political prisoners free.
2. Not imprison for “likes”.
3. Stop Illegal arrests on rallies.
4. Allow political competition in the country.
5. Not fabricate criminal accusations and not keep people in jails for no reason.
6. Turn the earthly policeman into the heavenly policeman.”
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