Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner calls for criminal investigation into Navalny’s poisoning

Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova has spoken out in favor of opening a criminal case in connection with the poisoning of opposition figure Alexey Navalny.

“I’m in favor of initiating a criminal case, because we are all interested in establishing the truth in this situation. It has received great public interest,” Moskalkova said, as quoted by Interfax. 

Moskalkova expects that “Germany will provide us with the expert reports, maybe Navalny will give clarification on this issue himself.”

The Russian Prosecutor’s Office and Interior Ministry conducted preliminary inquiries in connection with Alexey Navalny’s poisoning and concluded that there was no basis for launching a criminal case. This was reported by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

In an interview with the German weekly Der Spiegel, published on October 1, Navalny said that he holds Russian President Vladimir Putin personally responsible for his poisoning. 

A number of European politicians have demanded that Russia conduct an open investigation into Navalny’s poisoning, including Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borell.