World Cup final pitch invader and Pussy Riot activist feared 'poisoned'

The unofficial spokesman of Russian protest band Pussy Riot is reportedly in a critical condition, with his family fearing he was poisoned.

Pyotr Verzilov, who invaded the football pitch during this year's World Cup final, was said to have been taken to hospital on Tuesday after he "began to lose his sight, speech and the ability to move around".

Fellow Pussy Riot member Veronika Nikulshina, who joined the activist on the pitch, told Russian website Meduza that he started to feel unwell shortly after a court hearing.

"When the paramedics arrived, he answered all their questions, saying, 'no, I didn't eat anything, no, I didn't take anything'," she said.

"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 recognise me anymore."

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