Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was poisoned, the German hospital treating him has said.
The Charite hospital in Berlin said that the team of doctors who have been treating him since he was admitted on Saturday had found the presence of “cholinesterase inhibitors” in his system.
Cholinesterase inhibitors are a broad range of substances found in several drugs but also in pesticides and nerve agents. Common side effects include vomiting, muscle cramps, headache and hallucinations.
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Doctors at the hospital said that the specific substance to which Mr Navalny was exposed is not yet known.
“The patient is in an intensive care unit and is still in an induced coma. His health is serious but there is currently no acute danger to his life,” the hospital said in a statement.
Berlin police and federal agents were posted at the downtown hospital where Mr Navalny has been undergoing treatment following his arrival in Germany after the chancellor, Angela Merkel, personally offered the country’s assistance
“It was obvious that after his arrival, protective precautions had to be taken,” Ms Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, told reporters. “After all, this is a patient who, with a certain degree of probability, was poisoned.”
Later on Monday, Ms Merkel called for Russia to investigate the suspected poisoning and hold the perpetrators accountable.
“In light of the prominent role played by Mr Navalny in the political opposition in Russia, the authorities there are now urgently called upon to investigate this crime to the last detail – and do so in full transparency,” Ms Merkel said in a joint statement with Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas.
“Those responsible must be identified and held accountable,” she added.
Mr Navalny was campaigning in Siberia when he collapsed while on a plane last Thursday after drinking tea at Tomsk airport.
His supporters believe the tea was laced with poison. They allege that the Kremlin was behind both his illness and a delay in transferring him to Germany.
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However, Russian doctors have said that tests showed no traces of poison in Mr Navalny’s system. The Kremlin has not yet commented on the allegation.
Last week, Mr Navalny’s team submitted a request in Russia to launch a criminal probe, but as of Monday, Russia’s Investigative Committee still has not opened a case, Mr Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said.
Ilya Yashin, an opposition politician in Moscow and a close ally of Mr Navalny, urged Russia’s law enforcement, in a video statement, to investigate “an attempt at a life of a public figure” and to look into the possible involvement of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
“It is Putin who benefits from these endless assaults,” Mr Yashin said.
Mr Navalny has been an outspoken critic of the Kremlin for more than a decade.
He has been repeatedly detained for organising rallies and public meetings, and sued over his investigations into corruption. In 2018, he was barred from running in the presidential election.
NoLox123 on August 24th, 2020 at 15:29 UTC »
Press Release by Charité Berlin:
"Since his admission at the weekend, Alexei Navalny has been receiving treatment at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The patient is being treated in intensive care and remains in medically induced coma. While his condition is serious, it is not currently life-threatening.
Following his admission, Mr. Navalny underwent extensive examination by a team of Charité physicians. Clinical findings indicate poisoning with a substance from the group of cholinesterase inhibitors. The specific substance involved remains unknown, and a further series of comprehensive testing has been initiated. The effect of the poison – namely, the inhibition of cholinesterase in the body – was confirmed by multiple tests in independent laboratories.
As a result of this diagnosis, the patient is now being treated with the antidote atropine. Alexei Navalny’s prognosis remains unclear; the possibility of long-term effects, particularly those affecting the nervous system, cannot be excluded.
The treating physicians remain in constant contact with Mr. Navalny’s wife. After close consultation with the patient’s wife, Charité is reassured that the decision to make details of the patient’s condition public would be in accordance with his wishes."
Akira_Nishiki on August 24th, 2020 at 15:19 UTC »
Guess the Russians didn't keep him long enough for the poison to dissipate.
Svindlaren72 on August 24th, 2020 at 14:59 UTC »
Fairly obvious. It's gotta be something way sneakier than polonium. That blew up in their faces hilariously.