Based on laboratory results from a sample retrieved from opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s body, deadly toxin Epibatidine was used to poison him.
This toxin is found in South American wild dart frogs.
Five European nations—the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands issued the statement during the Munich Security Conference.
In a statement, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said that Russia had the means, motive, and opportunity to administer this poison.
Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told the state-run news outlet RIA Novosti that she would react after the test results are made public, which she pointed out hasn’t happened yet.
The five nations said that they are filing a report against Russia for violating the Chemical Weapons Convention with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The organization did not immediately respond.
On February 16, 2024, Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most ardent opponent, died in an Arctic prison colony after serving a 19-year sentence he said was politically motivated. Navalny fought against official corruption and organized anti-Kremlin demonstrations.
Dart frogs naturally contain epibatidine, which can also be produced in a lab. European scientists believe this was the situation when Navalny was poisoned. The poison can be fatal upon contact.
It causes convulsions, seizures, shortness of breath, and a slowing heart rate.
Russia must be held responsible for its “repeated violations” of the treaty, according to the five nations.
At the Munich Security Conference, Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny’s widow, met British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper. The latest discoveries, according to her, are “shedding light on the Kremlin’s savage scheme to silence his voice.”
The purported poisoning demonstrates that “Vladimir Putin is prepared to use biological weapons against his own people in order to remain in power,” according to a post on X by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.
The Russian government has denied participation in Navalny’s death on several occasions. According to the authorities, he died naturally after getting sick from going for a walk.
Navalny was the previous target of a nerve agent poisoning in 2020 that he blamed on the Kremlin.
He was flown to Germany for treatment, and when he returned to Russia five months later, he was immediately arrested and imprisoned for the remaining three years of his life.
