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Pussy Riot Activist Was Likely Poisoned, German Doctors Confirm

HeadlineSep 19, 2018

A member of the Russian activist group Pussy Riot remains hospitalized in Berlin after losing the ability to speak or walk. On Tuesday, German doctors said the activist, Pyotr Verzilov, was likely poisoned. Verzilov was hospitalized last week after falling gravely ill. In July, he was arrested and jailed after rushing the field during a World Cup match to protest Russian police brutality and human rights abuses. He reportedly started having severe symptoms after attending a court hearing in Moscow. In 2012, Pyotr appeared on Democracy Now! to talk about Russia’s jailing of his former wife Nadia Tolokonnikova, also of Pussy Riot.

Pyotr Verzilov: “A week later, I went to see Nadia, and around 20 or 25 FSB officers just like were jumping out of nowhere and apprehended us. We were put to the ground, guns stuck to our heads, and then we were taken to interrogation. And the same thing happened with the other two girls.”

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