Navalny prison
An employee of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service stands with a service dog outside Penal Colony No 2 in the town of Pokrov, some 85 km east of Moscow, where convicted opposition activist Alexei Navalny is serving his sentence.
Getty Images
  • A CNN reporter was arrested outside the penal colony where Alexei Navalny is being held.
  • A number of people were arrested amid protests demanding Navalny receive proper medical care.
  • Navalny's lawyer said the Kremlin critic is "seriously ill."
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

CNN correspondent Matthew Chance on Tuesday was arrested outside of the Russian penal colony where Alexei Navalny has been imprisoned, amid growing concerns over the top Kremlin critic's health.

Chance tweeted a photo of himself apparently in police custody at the facility.

At least eight other people were also arrested at the penal colony, located roughly 60 miles from Moscow, as protesters gathered and demanded Navalny receive appropriate medical care, CBS News reported.

Navalny was transferred to a medical unit on Monday for possible respiratory problems and tested for coronavirus, Reuters reported, though the results of the test remain unclear. Earlier in the day, a post on Navalny's Instagram said he was suffering from a severe cough and high temperature. The post also said several inmates in Navalny's prison ward had tuberculosis.

One of the Russian opposition leader's lawyers, Olga Mikhailova, on Tuesday confirmed that Navalny is "seriously ill."

"He has lost a lot of weight, plus he has a strong cough and a temperature of 38.1C," Mikhailova said, calling it a "complete outrage," per the Guardian. The statement means Navalny is running a fever of 100.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

alexei navalny
Alexei Navalny appears in a video published by his team on January 18, 2021.
Navalny Live/YouTube

Navalny recently announced he's going on hunger strike to protest a lack of access to proper medical care in the facility amid complaints of acute back pain and leg pain.

The anti-corruption campaigner is Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic. In August, Navalny was poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok, which almost killed him. Navalny was taken to Germany for treatment, where remained for months.

Upon returning to Moscow in January, he was promptly arrested by Russian authorities and charged with violating the terms of a suspended sentence over a 2014 fraud conviction. Navalny was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison amid mass protests over his detention across Russia.

Critics have characterized the charges Navalny has faced as politically motivated. Leaders across the world, including President Joe Biden, have condemned Russia over Navalny's poisoning and detention.

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