The head of one of Russia's most prominent anti-Kremlin organizations has been hospitalized in Moscow.
Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., the head of opposition group Open Russia, has been placed on life support and is in a medically-induced coma.
The activist's symptoms are similar to those which saw him slip into a coma almost two years ago, his lawyer Vadim Prokhorov told the Interfax news agency.
Although the incident in May 2015 was officially blamed on kidney failure, friends of Kara-Murza alleged he had been poisoned.
Kara-Murza had been visiting the offices state-owned legal news agency when he suddenly became violently ill and was rushed to hospital.
After his recovery, the politician told journalists that there was no way of proving if his illness had been an attempt on his life, but said that it was “difficult to believe it was an accident.”
Kara-Murza appealed to Russia's Investigation Committee in January 2016, asking them to carry out a comprehensive toxicological screening in order to rule out foul play. No criminal case was ever initiated.
Open Russia is a pro-democracy group founded by former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was jailed for a decade on charges which have since been condemned as politically motivated. Relaunched in 2014, the group supports projects which it believes will promote and strengthen democracy in the country.
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