Rare toxin allegedly used in Navalny case, say five countries including France

Yesterday 14:00

By: Sahili Aya

Rare toxin allegedly used in Navalny case, say five countries including France

Five countries, including the United Kingdom and France, have concluded that Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a rare toxin prior to his death in prison in February 2024.

The findings were disclosed by London during the Munich Security Conference, as part of a joint investigation conducted alongside Germany, Sweden and Netherlands. According to a statement released by the British Foreign Office, laboratory analyses confirmed the presence of epibatidine — a highly toxic substance found in certain Ecuadorian poison dart frogs — in biological samples taken from Navalny’s body.

Officials described the substance as a lethal toxin and stated it was “very likely” the cause of death. The British government further asserted that only the Russian state had the “means, motive and opportunity” to deploy such a toxin against the imprisoned opposition leader.

Navalny, a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin and an outspoken opponent of Russia’s war in Ukraine, died at the age of 47 in an Arctic penal colony, where he was serving a lengthy sentence on charges widely viewed by his supporters as politically motivated.

In response to the findings, the United Kingdom announced it would formally notify the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), citing what it called a “flagrant violation” of the Chemical Weapons Convention. London urged Moscow to cease any such prohibited activities.

Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, had previously alleged that her husband had been poisoned. Speaking on the sidelines of the Munich conference, she said that what she once described as a suspicion had now become “a scientific fact.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot condemned the alleged use of a toxic substance, stating that the case underscored the dangers faced by political opponents in Russia.

The Kremlin has consistently denied responsibility for Navalny’s death and rejected accusations of foul play. However, the new international findings are likely to intensify diplomatic tensions between Moscow and several Western capitals.