The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has found the presence of a chemical warfare substance belonging to the Novichok group in blood samples from Alexander Navalny, the leader of the Russian opposition.
The OPCW said on Tuesday that cholinesterase inhibitors similar to the two types of Novichok that the organization had banned in 2019 have been detected in blood and urine samples from Navalny.
However, the organization pointed out, they are not exactly like the varieties banned last year.
On April 20, Navalny was reportedly ill during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow, the pilot made an emergency landing at Omsk airport, and Navalny was unconsciously taken to Omsk hospital with signs of poisoning. On August 22, Navalni was transferred from Russia to Germany, where he was treated by the Charite clinic at the University of Berlin.
On 2 September, Germany stated that indisputable evidence had been obtained that Navalny had been poisoned by a nerve-paralyzing warfare substance belonging to the Novichok group. This conclusion was later confirmed by the French and Swedish laboratories and is now confirmed by the OPCW.
On September 22, Navalni was discharged from a Berlin hospital.
Western countries have asked Russia for explanations, but the Kremlin has denied any involvement in the assassination attempt.
OPCW chief Fernando Arias “believes these results are a matter of serious concern,” the OPCW said.
The organisation’s technical assistance was requested by Germany, which, as a member of the OPCW, has the right to do so if it suspects a chemical weapons incident.
OPCW member states have declared any use of chemical weapons to be reprehensible and contrary to the legal norms established by the international community, Arias said.
He called on the member states to abide by this norm, which was agreed more than 25 years ago.
Stefan Zeibert, the press secretary of the German government, confirmed that the results of the tests of the Navalny blood and urine samples performed by the OPCW correspond to the results of the tests performed in the laboratories of Germany, France and Sweden.
Read more: The OPCW is ready to send experts to Russia to investigate the poisoning of Navalny
– .
