Five European nations have concluded that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a rare toxin derived from poison dart frogs, escalating accusations against the Kremlin over his death.
Foreign ministries of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands said laboratory analysis of samples taken from Navalny’s body found the presence of epibatidine, a potent neurotoxin naturally secreted by dart frogs in South America but also capable of being manufactured synthetically.
In a joint statement, the countries said Russia had the “means, motive and opportunity” to administer the poison and announced plans to report Moscow to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for an alleged breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic, died on Feb 16, 2024, in an Arctic penal colony while serving a 19-year sentence he said was politically motivated. Russian authorities have maintained that he died of natural causes, denying any involvement.
His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, said she had been convinced from the outset that her husband was poisoned and that new findings now provided proof. She again accused Putin of being responsible and called for accountability.
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European officials said epibatidine affects the nervous system in a manner similar to nerve agents, causing breathing difficulties, seizures, slowed heart rate and potentially death. They expressed high confidence in the findings but acknowledged the investigation was complex and time-consuming.
Navalny survived a previous poisoning in 2020 involving a nerve agent attack he blamed on the Kremlin. He later returned to Russia after treatment in Germany and was immediately arrested, spending the final years of his life in prison.
The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected accusations of using chemical or biological weapons against political opponents.