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Britain and European allies have revealed {that a} poison obtained from a South American ‘dart frog’ was used to assassinate Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny. Two years after his dying in a Siberian jail, evaluation of samples taken from his physique has led to the Kremlin being held liable for the assassination.
These information have been confirmed in a joint assertion issued by the UK, Sweden, France, Germany, and the Netherlands on the Munich Safety Convention. British International Secretary Yvette Cooper commented that solely the Russian authorities had the means, motive, and alternative to make use of this poison whereas Navalny was imprisoned in Russia, and that this demonstrates Russia’s worry of political opponents.
The poison ‘epibatidine’, present in Navalny’s physique, is of course discovered solely in dart frogs residing within the forests of South America. Allied nations emphasize that caged frogs don’t produce this poison, and since it isn’t present in Russia’s pure atmosphere, no justification could be offered for its presence in Navalny’s physique.
Chatting with BBC Russian, toxicology knowledgeable Jill Johnson defined that this poison is 200 instances stronger than morphine. By affecting the central nervous system, it could possibly result in muscle paralysis, seizures, slowed coronary heart charge, respiratory difficulties, and finally even dying. She additional acknowledged that since solely a really small quantity could be obtained from a selected species of untamed frog accustomed to a selected weight loss plan, that is a particularly uncommon technique that may very well be used to poison somebody.
In the course of the convention, Navalny’s spouse, Yulia Navalnaya, met with the British International Secretary and expressed her gratitude to the European nations for uncovering the reality via meticulous investigations performed over two years. She acknowledged that she had believed her husband was poisoned from day one, and now the required proof has been obtained.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French International Minister Jean-Noël Barrot paid tribute to Navalny, commending his unparalleled braveness. Moreover, the UK has formally knowledgeable the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons about this, accusing Russia of violating the Chemical Weapons Conference.
Nevertheless, in line with the Tass information company, Kremlin spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected these accusations, stating that that is merely an info marketing campaign to divert consideration from issues in Western nations. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who prevented even mentioning Navalny’s identify whereas he was alive, solely referred to his dying a month later as “at all times a tragic occasion.” Navalny, a robust anti-corruption activist aged 47, survived poisoning with the nerve agent ‘Novichok’ in 2020, and later mysteriously died in a Siberian jail cell on February 16, 2024.