Poisoning of Alexei Navalny

Not to be confused with Death of Alexei Navalny.

Poisoning of Alexei Navalny
Omsk Tsentralny Airport
LocationXander Hotel, Tomsk, Russia (presumed)[1][2]
Date20 August 2020; 4 years ago (2020-08-20) (UTC+7)
TargetAlexei Navalny
Attack type
Poisoning
WeaponsNovichok agent[3]
Deaths0
Injured1
AssailantFederal Security Service

On 20 August 2020, Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny was poisoned with the Novichok nerve agent and as a result, he was hospitalized in serious condition. During a flight from Tomsk to Moscow, he became ill and was taken to a hospital in Omsk after an emergency landing there, and then, he was put in a coma. He was evacuated to the Charité hospital in Berlin, Germany, two days later. The use of the nerve agent was confirmed by five Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) certified laboratories.[4][5] On 7 September, doctors announced that they had taken Navalny out of the induced coma and that his condition had improved.[6] He was discharged from the hospital on 22 September 2020.[7] The OPCW said that a cholinesterase inhibitor from the Novichok group was found in Navalny's blood, urine, skin samples and his water bottle.[4][8][9][10] At the same time, the OPCW report clarified that Navalny was poisoned with a new type of Novichok, which was not included in the list of controlled chemicals of the Chemical Weapons Convention.[11][12][13]

Navalny accused President Vladimir Putin of being responsible for his poisoning, but the Kremlin said the accusations were "utterly unfounded" and "insulting". The Kremlin further alleged that Navalny was working for the CIA.[14] The EU and the UK[15] imposed sanctions over Navalny's poisoning on the director of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Bortnikov, five other senior Russian officials, and the State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology (GosNIIOKhT).[16] According to the EU, the poisoning of Navalny became possible "only with the consent of the Presidential Executive Office" and with the participation of the FSB.[17][18][19] An investigation by Bellingcat and The Insider implicated agents from the FSB in Navalny's poisoning.[20]

Russian prosecutors refused to open an official criminal investigation of the poisoning, claiming they found no sign that a crime had been committed,[21][22] and the Kremlin denied involvement in the poisoning of Navalny.[23]

  1. ^ Tadtaev, Georgii (17 September 2020). "Соратники Навального объяснили происхождение бутылки с «Новичком" [Navalny's associates explained the origin of the bottle with «Novichok»]. РБК (in Russian). Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Бутылку со следами "Новичка" изъяли из номера Навального в томском отеле" [The bottle with traces of «Novichok» was taken from the room of Navalny in the Tomsk hotel]. TV Rain (in Russian). 17 September 2020. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Oltermann 2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b "OPCW Issues Report on Technical Assistance Requested by Germany". Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. 6 October 2020. Archived from the original on 6 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Watchdog Says Novichok-Type Nerve Agent Found in Navalny Samples". The Moscow Times. 6 October 2020. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Russia's Navalny out of coma after poisoning". BBC News. 7 September 2020. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Alexei Navalny: Russian activist discharged from Berlin hospital". BBC News. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fischer 2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "OPCW: Novichok found on Alexei Navalny samples". Deutsche Welle. 6 October 2020. Archived from the original on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  10. ^ Deutsch, Anthony (6 October 2020). Jones, Gareth; Potter, Mark (eds.). "Chemical weapons body confirms nerve agent Novichok in Navalny's blood". Reuters. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  11. ^ "OPCW confirms that Navalny was poisoned with a toxin resembling Novichok not included under its existing bans". Meduza. 6 October 2020. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  12. ^ Talmazan, Yuliya (7 October 2020). "New questions arise after chemical weapons body confirms Novichok in Navalny's blood". NBC News. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  13. ^ "ОЗХО заявила об отравлении Навального новым типом "Новичка"" [OPCW announced the poisoning of Navalny with a new type of "Novichok"]. Interfax.ru (in Russian). 6 October 2020. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  14. ^ Rainsford, Sarah (1 October 2020). "Alexei Navalny blames Vladimir Putin for poisoning him". BBC News. Archived from the original on 3 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  15. ^ Emmott, Robin; Young, Sarah; Falconbridge, Guy; Marrow, Alexander; Antonov, Dmitry (15 October 2020). Andrew Cawthorne; Giles Elgood; William Maclean (eds.). "EU, Britain sanction Russian officials over Navalny poisoning". Reuters. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  16. ^ "UK sanctions Alexey Navalny's poisoners" (Press release). GOV.UK. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  17. ^ Chappell, Bill (15 October 2020). "EU Sanctions Russian Officials Over Navalny Poisoning, Citing Chemical Weapons Use". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Navalny Novichok poisoning: EU sanctions hit top Russians". BBC News. 15 October 2020. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  19. ^ Baklanov, Alexander; Lysova, Tatyana (15 October 2020). "'Accessible only to State authorities' Here's how the EU explained its decision to sanction high-level Russian officials over Navalny's poisoning". Meduza. Translated by Eilish Hart. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC investigation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Zverev, Anton; Tétrault-Farber, Gabrielle; Ivanova, Polina; Teterevleva, Anastasia; Kiselyova, Maria (27 August 2020). Rao, Sujata (ed.). "Russian prosecutors say no need for criminal investigation in Navalny affair". Reuters. Archived from the original on 31 August 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  22. ^ "Russia Protests Germany's 'Unfounded Accusations' In Navalny Poisoning Case". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 9 September 2020. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  23. ^ "Kremlin dismisses claims Putin poisoned Navalny". BBC News. 25 August 2020. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.