'Poisoned' Putin critic leaves Russia for treatment

Moscow [Russia], Feb. 19 (ANI): A critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was hospitalised this month after suspected poisoning, on Sunday left the country to seek further treatment, according to his lawyer. "This morning, Vladimir Kara-Murza flew abroad with his wife Evgenia Kara-Murza, accompanied by physician to undergo a rehabilitation course after repeated severe poisoning (a few days earlier he had been in a critical state of coma)," Kara-Murza's lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov posted on Facebook. According to CNN, Kara-Murza was released from a Moscow hospital, said Prokhorov, who did not reveal his client's destination. "The diagnosis in the discharge summary is the same - 'toxic effects of unknown substances,'" Prokhorov said. The lawyer added that Kara-Murza plans to continue to pursue "the restoration of democracy in Russia". Kara-Murza, who fell into a coma in 2015 after a suspected poisoning, was hospitalised on February 3. He is a part of Open Russia, an organisation of anti-Putin activists, who are calling for open elections, a free press and civil rights reforms. Russia has denied any connection to Kara-Murza's illness. Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio has urged the White House and the State Department to question Russian authorities about the case. "Vladimir Putin does not deserve any benefit of doubt here, given how commonplace political assassinations and poisonings have become under his regime," said Rubio, a frequent Putin critic. (ANI)