Russian-Canadian activist hospitalized in suspected poisoning, Pussy Riot says

Pyotr Verzilov, a Russian-Canadian anti-Kremlin activist, is seriously ill and in hospital, members of the Pussy Riot protest band with whom he collaborated said late on Wednesday, suggesting he may have been poisoned.

Verzilov, 30, helped stage a protest during the soccer World Cup final in Moscow in July along with three women affiliated with the anti-Kremlin punk band and is the publisher of Mediazona, a Russian online news outlet that focuses on human rights violations inside Russia's penal system.

The band announced Verzilov'sillness on Twitter.

Sergei Smirnov, editor in chief of Mediazona, struck a morecautious note, however, confirming on social media that Verzilovwas in hospital, but saying nobody knew his diagnosis, making itdifficult to understand what was going on.

Prime Minister Trudeau says consular officials have reached out to the hospital where Verzilov is being treated.

"It is of concern, obviously, particularly given the actions of recentmonths by the Russians in the U.K.," he said, presumably referring to Moscow's alleged involvement in the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal.

"We are certainlytaking this very seriously," he said in Saskatoon, where his party is holding its caucus."But it is too earlyto draw any conclusions aboutwhat has happened or how it hashappened."

Listen to the prime minister's full answer aboutPyotrVerzilov

Trudeau on the hospitalization of Pyotr Verzilov

6 years ago

Duration 0:50

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to reporters in Saskatoon on Thursday

Online news portal Meduza cited Veronika Nikulshina, who itsaid was Verzilov's girlfriend, describing how he had been rushed to hospital on Tuesday night after he started to lose hiseyesight and ability to talk and walk.

Verzilov and the others served a 15-day sentence for runningonto the field in front of President Vladimir Putin and other high-ranking officials wearing police uniforms during the finalof the World Cup on July 15, a stunt they said was meant topromote free speech.

Verzilovlived in Toronto as a teenager and holdsboth Canadianand Russian citizenship.

Pussy Riot came to prominence in 2012 when its members werejailed for staging a protest against Putin in a Russian Orthodoxcathedral in Moscow. The group has since become a symbol ofanti-Kremlin protest action.

With files from Chris Brown