Navalny’s health is worsening in prison. Reports that Navalny was suffering health issues first emerged on March 25. Leonid Volkov, the head of Navalny’s network of campaign offices, wrote on Telegram that the opposition leader has been experiencing severe back pain since late last week. He has also lost the feeling in one leg and cannot stand on it. Navalny’s lawyers were blocked from seeing him during their scheduled visit yesterday, and Volkov suspected the reason was that officials sought to hide Navalny’s condition.

Russia’s prison authorities responded to Volkov’s post by saying that they had examined Navalny and his condition is “stable and satisfactory.” However, when Navalny’s lawyers were able to get through to him, he described that he is in acute pain and has been denied treatment other than some ibuprofen and cream. Navalny furthermore said that prison guards wake him up every hour, torturing him via sleep deprivation. The authorities do not deny that they wake him up hourly, but they explain it’s because he has been designated a flight risk.

News of Navalny’s deteriorating health and poor conditions came shortly after his team announced plans to hold a new nationwide rally after pausing protests in January. The date of the rally is not set. Instead of setting a specific day for the demonstrations, Navalny’s team is focusing on the number of participants. To do this, they have launched a website, free.navalny.com, where Russians can register for the upcoming protest. When the site receives 500,000 signatures, the opposition leaders will name a date for the protests. The site crashed in its first few minutes due to heavy traffic. It’s back up, and Navalny’s team is over halfway to its goal.

Navalny’s closest allies will likely not be able to attend the protests, however. Continuing its crackdown on the opposition, a Moscow court extended the house arrest of Navalny’s colleagues and prominent supporters until June 23. The order pertains to the Anti-Corruption Foundation’s Lyubov Sobol and Kira Yarmysh, Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina, and Navalny’s brother Oleg Navalny, among others. All were placed under house arrest following the pro-Navalny protest on January 23, which the authorities claim violated epidemiological rules.

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This article originally appeared in FPRI's BMB Russia newsletter. Click here to learn more about BMB Russia and subscribe to the newsletter.