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.