The Germans have now confirmed apparently that Alexei Navalny was indeed poisoned. Wonder how long it will be before Putins chaps will blame Covid 19.
The Germans have now confirmed apparently that Alexei Navalny was indeed poisoned.
Surprise, surprise.
Putin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned with Novichok.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54002880
Yeah. Right.Navalny May Have Poisoned Himself, Putin Reportedly Tells Macron
as one does I suppose...?
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020...-himself-putin-reportedly-tells-macron-a71515
Germany: OPCW confirms nerve agent used in Navalny poisoning
The global chemical watchdog group has confirmed Germany and other countries’ findings that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was the victim of an attack with a Soviet-era nerve agent, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said Tuesday.
Steffen Seibert said in a statement that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, or OPCW, had carried out its own analysis of samples taken from Navalny, and they “agree with the results already from special laboratories in Germany, Sweden and France.”
... German officials said last month that labs found traces of a chemical agent from the Novichok family in the Russian politician’s system.
“This once again confirms unequivocally that Alexei Navalny was the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group,” Seibert said. ...
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said it was just happenstance that German labs had been the first to conclude that Navalny had been poisoned by Novichok because he was being treated in Berlin, and suggested that the OPCW report means Russia can no longer make excuses not to respond.
“The OPCW will make its results, and as far as possible also its analysis, available to all 193 member states,” Maas said. “That is important because it’s not a bilateral issue between Germany and Russia, it’s an international topic — the use of a nerve agent affects the entire international community.” ...
Watch as they do so.Russia had brushed off earlier claims from Germany and France, but they can't easily or casually ignore this one.
By examining thousands of phone records along with flight manifests and other documents obtained by Bellingcat, this joint months-long investigation has identified the agents involved, as well as their backgrounds, communications and travel. The investigation also involved German magazine Der Spiegel and Russian online publication The Insider.
While Navalny may never have seen his shadows, this investigation found that other parts of their tradecraft were not that elaborate. Until 2018, agents in the unit frequently used their own names as they followed their target. Some then adopted fake identities but used their wives' maiden names and changed their dates of birth by a year.
Bellingcat researchers and Russian investigative journalists have used such data to reveal details about the activities of Russian hackers and intelligence operatives, who have often made basic errors such as registering their cars to their official workplaces.
In what he was told was a debriefing, Konstantin Kudryavtsev also talked about others involved in the poisoning in the Siberian city of Tomsk, and how he was sent to clean things up.
But the agent was not speaking to an official in Russia's National Security Council as he thought. He was talking to Navalny himself, who almost died after being poisoned in August.
Navalny, who is still recovering at a secret location in Germany, posed as a senior official from Russia's National Security Council tasked with carrying out an analysis of the poisoning operation. His phone number was disguised as that of the headquarters of the FSB, according to Navalny's team and a recording of the call later provided to CNN and Bellingcat.
After Kudryavtsev confirmed his identity, Navalny said he'd been tasked with getting "a brief understanding from the team members: what went wrong, why was there a complete failure in Tomsk with Navalny?"
Kudryavtsev's responses in the 45-minute call provide the first direct evidence of the unit's involvement in poisoning Navalny.
At times he is clearly apprehensive about talking on an unsecured line but Navalny, speaking at times in a brusque and urgent way, persuades him that senior officials are demanding a report immediately and says that "all of this will be discussed at the Security Council on the highest level."
Navalny asked: "What item of clothing was the emphasis on? What is the most risky piece of clothing?"
Kudryavtsev replied simply: "Underpants."
Navalny followed by asking exactly where the Novichok was applied -- the inside or outside seams.
"The insides, the crotch," replied Kudryavtsev.
CNN cannot confirm that Kudryavtsev was also in Tomsk when the poison was applied. But the call showed he had intimate knowledge of what was done and that he was involved in the cleanup operation to ensure there were no traces of Novichok left after Navalny had left the hospital.
Now we know what the underpants gnomes phase 2 was.
Accidental defenestration?Russian doctor who treated Navalny after poisoning has died
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/04/europe/russia-navalny-doctor-maximishin-dies-intl/index.html
Ha! Crazy isn't it.. Yet somehow predictable.Accidental defenestration?
Just evil, what's been done to him.
Staying in Germany wouldn't have saved him though.The guy's courage was remarkable.
When asked why he didn't stay in Germany following treatment after Putin had him poisoned, he said he still had work to do in his homeland and didn't want to give Putin any excuse to claim that he was a western agent.
Reports on BBC radio of a few brave souls laying flowers in his memory in Moscow tonight.
One can but hope that the Russian people will one day tire of being an international pariah and living under brutal totalitarianism and take action to rejoin the civilised world.
Indeed. Just as living in Salisbury or Winchester didn't save the victims of Novichok.Staying in Germany wouldn't have saved him though.
The official story is he collapsed after having a walk, in an exercise yard presumably. No mention of poisoning that I’ve heard. although I wouldn’t rule it out.This is simply a question and nothing more.
How is it known that Navalny factually died from being poisoned in the jail where he was being held?