Peter Verzilov, the member of Russian punk activist group Pussy Riot who was poisoned and left needing intensive care, has been released from hospital. “Peter feels great and they’re kicking him out of the hospital,” the group tweeted.

Verzilov had suddenly felt unwell after a court hearing on 11 September, following the brief arrest of him and other Pussy Riot members in the wake of their pitch invasion protest at this year’s World Cup final. His condition deteriorated to the point where he could not walk, talk or see, though he has since recovered.

Following a short spell in a Russian hospital, he was flown to Berlin for treatment. Dr Kai-Uwe Eckardt, who treated Verzilov there, said it was “highly probable” he was poisoned – making Verzilov the latest high-profile example of a critic of Russia’s political class being targeted in this way.

Verzilov told German newspaper Bild that he believes the attack was by Russian secret services, “possibly Russia’s GRU military intelligence … The poisoning was carried out so professionally that no other conclusion is possible.” He said he believed he was targeted partly because of his World Cup protest, but chiefly because of an investigation he was carrying out into the deaths of three Russian journalists who were killed in an ambush in the Central African Republic in July.

His ex-wife Nadya Tolokonnikova, a member of Pussy Riot who was herself jailed for two years following a protest, told Bild the poisoning was intended to “intimidate or even attempt to murder” Verzilov, who said he plans to return to Russia once he has fully recovered.