Pyotr Verzilov, a member of Pussy Riot and a publisher of the independent news website Mediazona, who with his fellow Pussy Riot member Veronika Nikulshina, was arrested on Monday in the wake of nationwide protests in Russia, has been hospitalised in a critical condition. Nikulshina was arrested while driving her car, while Verzilov was detained near his home. Nikulshina, speaking to Russian publication Meduza, recounted the events following their court hearing on 11 September when they returned home: Verzilov ‘woke up and said he was starting to lose his sight…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.’
Verzilov is currently receiving treatment at the toxicology department of Bakhrushin City Clinical Hospital in Moscow. His mother and Nikulshina have been denied any details on the status of his health by doctors who are refusing to describe his condition or let them know of any preliminary diagnoses regarding potential poisoning. According to Nikulshina, ‘The doctor only said that his condition was serious, but his behavior was improving and he’d started responding to his own name’.
Verzilov’s family and friends continue to wait for news about his condition.
13 September 2018
