Does the Kremlin want Alexei Navalny to die in prison?

VLADIMIR PUTIN may have hoped that locking up his main political opponent in a harsh penal colony would finally put him out of sight and out of mind. Instead, Alexei Navalny continues to torment the Russian president, exposing the cruelty and lies of his regime.Deprived of his freedom and of any public platform, Mr Navalny is fighting back with the only instruments he has left: his body and his life. Since March 31st he has been on a hunger strike in his cell in Pokrov, some 100km (60 miles) east of Moscow. He is protesting against the appalling conditions of his confinement—he is being deprived both of sleep and of medical care. He has a fever and breathing problems. Three men in his barrack have been diagnosed with tuberculosis, which is common in Russian prisons.