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 Pyotr Verzilov, who invaded pitch in World Cup, ‘lost sight and speech’ before falling ill 
 
 Pussy Riot activist in hospital after being poisoned, say group 
 
 A member of the Russian protest group Pussy Riot who ran on to the pitch during the World Cup final is in intensive care in hospital after losing his vision and being unable to walk. 
 
 Fellow members of the group say they believe Pyotr Verzilov was poisoned. 
 
 “Our friend, brother, comrade Petr [Pyotr] Verzilov is in reanimation,” Pussy Riot wrote on Twitter, using the common Russian translation for intensive care. “His life is in danger. We think that he was poisoned.” 
 
 'Crazy accusations': two Pussy Riot members arrested in Moscow Read more 
 
 Verzilov’s sickness was reported on Wednesday night, when another member of the group told the Russian-language news outlet Meduza that Verzilov had suddenly fallen ill. 
 
 Over a period of two hours “he got worse exponentially”, Veronika Nikulshina, a member of Pussy Riot who is in a relationship with Verzilov, told Meduza. “First his sight, then his ability to speak, then even his ability to walk.” 
 
 Play Video 0:54 Pussy Riot claim responsibility for World Cup final pitch invasion - video 
 
 Verzilov was one of four members of the group to invade the pitch, dressed in a police officer’s uniform, during the World Cup final between France and Croatia. It was part of a protest against Russian police brutality after a series of torture allegations were reported from prisons and police interrogation rooms across the country. 
 
 Verzilov reportedly fell ill after Nikulshina and another member of Pussy Riot attended a court hearing. 
 
 Verzilov has been involved in protest art in Russia for more than a decade, participating in both the Voina art collective and the formation of Pussy Riot. 
 
 He recently became the publisher of Mediazona, an independent Russian-language site founded by Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and, which focuses on court cases and conditions in Russian prisons. ||||| Image copyright Reuters Image caption Pyotr Verzilov was one of those jailed for invading the World Cup final pitch 
 
 Pyotr Verzilov, an activist with Russian protest group Pussy Riot, is reported to have been taken to hospital in a serious condition. 
 
 Relatives speaking to the Meduza website said they believed he may have suffered poisoning but there is no official word on his condition. 
 
 He reportedly fell ill after a court hearing on Tuesday for fellow Pussy Riot activist Veronika Nikulshina. 
 
 Mr Verzilov was one of the activists who invaded the World Cup final pitch. 
 
 He is a dual citizen of Russia and Canada. On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the situation was a "concern, obviously, given actions of recent months by the Russians in the UK" - referring to the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy and others in Salisbury. 
 
 However, he added it was "too early to draw any conclusions about what has happened or how it has happened". Mr Trudeau said consular officials had contacted the facility where Mr Verzilov was being treated. 
 
 Ms Nikulshina told Meduza that Mr Verzilov had complained of losing his sight, "then the ability to talk, then the ability to walk". 
 
 She said that when he was admitted to hospital, an initial examination "didn't turn up anything bad", but that later doctors suddenly moved Mr Verzilov to the hospital's toxicology wing. 
 
 Relatives quoted by Meduza say he still cannot speak and "reacts only with his eyes". 
 
 A member of staff at Moscow's Sklifosovsky hospital later confirmed to AFP news agency that Mr Verzilov was in the intensive care unit in a "serious condition", but gave no further details. 
 
 Mr Verzilov is married to Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, the Pussy Riot member who was sentenced in 2012 to two years in jail for a performance at a Moscow cathedral. 
 
 Ms Tolokonnikova tweeted: "Pyotr may have been poisoned. In the toxicology department in a very serious condition." 
 
 Maria Alyokhina, another Pussy Riot member who was jailed along with Ms Tolokonnikova, also tweeted that Mr Verzilov was in intensive care. 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Croatia's Dejan Lovren squared up to Mr Verzilov during the World Cup pitch invasion in July 
 
 Meduza said Mr Verzilov was in the toxicology department of a hospital in Moscow's Sokolniki district. 
 
 It said Mr Verzilov's mother had not been allowed to see her son. 
 
 Mr Verzilov was part of the Voina performance art group with Ms Tolokonnikova before it split in 2009 and then acted as spokesperson for Pussy Riot during the 2012 trial. 
 
 He was jailed for 15 days this year along with three women activists after they staged a pitch invasion at the football World Cup final in Moscow on 15 July, wearing police uniforms. 
 
 They said the action, done in the name of Pussy Riot, was a protest against human rights abuses in Russia.
– Pyotr Verzilov, an activist long associated with protest group Pussy Riot, is in intensive care and may have been poisoned, members say. Verzilov, ex-husband of Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, was one of four activists who stormed the pitch in police uniforms during the World Cup in July before issuing a list of demands, the BBC reports. "His life is in danger. We think that he was poisoned," Pussy Riot tweeted Wednesday, describing Verzilov as "our friend, brother, comrade." Verzilov became ill after a Tuesday court hearing for fellow Pussy Riot activist Veronika Nikulshina, members say. After the hearing, "he got worse exponentially," Nikulshina told Russian news outlet Meduza, per the Guardian. "First his sight, then his ability to speak, then even his ability to walk." According to Meduza, Verzilov is in the toxicology department of a Moscow hospital, and authorities have not allowed his mother to visit him. Verzilov and three female Pussy Riot members spent 15 days in jail for the pitch invasion, which they described as a protest against police brutality. Verzilov is the publisher of Mediazona, which was founded by Tolokonnikova in 2014 and reports on Russia's law enforcement and penal system.