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Activist, World Cup final pitch invader in hospital

France v Croatia - 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Final

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - JULY 15: Dejan Lovren of Croatia confronts a pitch invader during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final between France and Croatia at Luzhniki Stadium on July 15, 2018 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

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A prominent member of the anti-Kremlin movement is seriously ill in hospital, according to protest band Pussy Riot.

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Pyotr Verzilov, who helped organized the pitch invasion with Pussy Riot during the 2018 World Cup final in Moscow, was taken to hospital suffering from a lose of eyesight and he couldn’t walk or talk.

Members of Pussy Riot believe he could have been poisoned.

Below is more information from our friends over at NBCNews.com.

“Our friend, brother, comrade Petr Verzilov is in reanimation. His life is in danger. We think that he was poisoned,” Pussy Riot said on its official Twitter feed.

Sergei Smirnov, editor-in-chief of Mediazona, struck a more cautious note however, confirming on social media that Verzilov was in hospital but saying nobody knew his diagnosis, making it difficult to understand what was going on.

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


After running on the pitch dressed in police uniforms during the final between France and Croatia at the Luzhnkik Stadium on July 15, Verzilov and others were handed a 15-day prison sentence.

With Russian President Vladimir Putin present for the final, and their stunt, Verzilov and Pussy Riot said they wanted to promote free speech in Russia.

Follow @JPW_NBCSports