Laboratory tests have definitively confirmed that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent in prison months before his death, his widow Yulia Navalnaya has revealed.
The shocking findings, obtained by Navalnaya and a team of independent investigators, show evidence of a novichok-style substance in samples from the Kremlin critic's body. This marks at least the third known attempt on Navalny's life using similar chemical weapons.
A Pattern of Poisoning
Navalny's team asserts the poisoning occurred during his imprisonment at the IK-3 penal colony, known as "Polar Wolf," where he was being held on politically motivated charges. The test results indicate the substance was administered to Navalny in prison, raising serious questions about the safety and integrity of Russia's penal system.
"They killed him and then, to cover it up, they hid his body and lied about it for days," Navalnaya stated in an emotional address, referring to Russian authorities' initial refusal to release her husband's body.
International Outrage Grows
The confirmation has sparked renewed condemnation from Western leaders and human rights organizations. Many are calling for immediate international action against those responsible for what appears to be a state-sponsored assassination.
This latest development comes as Navalny's family and supporters continue to demand a transparent investigation into his sudden death in February 2024, which Russian authorities initially attributed to "sudden death syndrome."
A History of Attacks
Navalny survived a previous novichok poisoning in August 2020, for which he blamed President Vladimir Putin directly. After receiving medical treatment in Germany, he voluntarily returned to Russia in January 2021, where he was immediately arrested and sentenced to decades in prison on charges widely viewed as politically motivated.
The repeated use of chemical weapons against a prominent political opponent represents one of the most brazen examples of state-sponsored assassination attempts in recent history.
