Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation demands chemical weapons trafficking investigation over his poisoning
Lawyers from Alexey Navalny’s non-profit, the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) have made an official appeal to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), demanding the launch of a criminal case over the illegal trafficking of chemical weapons in connection with the opposition figure’s poisoning. The FBK’s legal service reported the request on its Telegram channel.
FBK lawyer Vyacheslav Gimadi specified that they sent the request to the FSB after the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed on October 6, that Navalny had been poisoned with a Novichok-type nerve agent.
According to Gimadi, FSB investigators are supposed to respond to the request within three days to confirm whether or not they will be initiating a criminal case.
According to a report from the Chairman of the State Commission for the Elimination of Chemical Weapons, dated 27.09.2017, Russia had completed the elimination of all existing chemical weapons stocks. However, Alexey Navalny’s poisoning with a toxin from the Novichok family indicates not only the use but also the development, production, and stockpiling of banned chemical weapons on the territory of the Russian Federation.
After the OPCW’s experts confirmed that Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny had been poisoned with a cholinesterase inhibitor resembling a Novichok-type substance, Germany and France announced plans to prepare new sanctions targeting Russian officials. The UK and the Netherlands have also supported imposing sanctions over Navalny’s poisoning.
Read more about Navalny’s poisoning
- OPCW confirms that Navalny was poisoned with a toxin resembling Novichok not included under its existing bans
- Technical assistance How Navalny’s poisoning could prompt the OPCW to carry out an emergency inspection in Russia
- Highly toxic, but unreliable ‘Meduza’ answers key questions about Novichok-type nerve agent poisoning
- Finding the poison: Dr. Marc-Michael Blum explains the analytical chemistry needed to identify nerve agents in patients
Article 355
Article 355 of the Russian Criminal Code prohibits the development, production, stockpiling, acquisition or sale of chemical, biological, toxic, and other types of chemical weapons. Those convicted under this article can face between five and ten years in prison.
Navalny’s poisoning
On August 20, Alexey Navalny became violently ill aboard a flight from Tomsk to Moscow. Pilots made an emergency landing in Omsk, where he was hospitalized and immediately placed in a medically induced coma. Two days later, he was transferred to Berlin for treatment. German specialists later concluded that he had been exposed to a Novichok-class nerve agent. Russian officials maintain that they have no evidence that Navalny was poisoned. He regained consciousness on September 7 and was discharged from the hospital on September 22. His full rehabilitation is expected to take several more weeks.