U.S.-based activist Natalia Arno, head of Free Russia Foundation, reportedly attacked in London
Russian activist Natalia Arno, who heads the pro-democracy organization Free Russia Foundation, was attacked in London and had her cell phone stolen, Agentstvo Media reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the incident. Arno confirmed the attack but declined to comment, citing an ongoing police investigation.
The attack occurred on November 13 near the city’s Cavendish Square, according to Agentstvo. Sources told the outlet that the assailant approached Arno from behind on a white scooter, grabbed her phone, and shouted in Russian, “Greetings from Nevzlin,” before fleeing the scene.
Arno reportedly locked her phone remotely within about 30 minutes, though the attackers may have had temporary access to some of its data.
The attack occurred shortly after Arno met with former Russian oil tycoon turned opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who lives in London.
In September 2024, associates of Alexey Navalny accused Leonid Nevzlin, a former business partner of Khodorkovsky, of ordering attacks on exiled Russian opposition figures. According to Agentstvo, media outlets and online influencers linked to Nevzlin have waged an “information attack” against Free Russia Foundation in recent months. The Telegram channel SOTA, which receives funding from Nevzlin, has published around 70 posts mentioning the organization this year, many of them explicitly negative, compared to just over 10 mentions the previous year.
After Agentstvo reported on the attack against Arno, SOTA called it a “media outlet affiliated with the [Navalny-founded] Anti-Corruption Foundation.” According to SOTA, Nevzlin contacted Arno in November and December and offered to cooperate in the investigation to clear his name. Nevzlin reportedly requested a copy of Arno’s statement to Scotland Yard, and while Arno initially promised to provide the document, she later ceased communication, SOTA claimed.
Arno has previously been targeted in what appear to have been poisoning attempts, including one incident in 2021 and another in 2023.
