German police probing suspected poisoning of two Russian exiles

The German police said on Sunday (May 21) that an inquiry has been opened into the suspected poisoning of two exiled Russians aftera journalist and an activist reported health problems following a Berlin meeting of dissidents. Speaking to the news agency AFP, a Berlin police spokesperson said, "An investigation has been opened. The probe is ongoing."

Earlier this week, Agentstvo - a Russian investigative media outlet - said two participants who attended a meeting of Russian dissidents in Berlin from April 29-30, experienced health problems.

One participant,a journalist who recently left Russia,experienced unspecified symptoms during the event and said they may have started earlier. The journalist was taken to the Charite University Hospital in Berlin where the opposition figure Alexei Navalny was treated after being poisoned in 2020.

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The second participant was Natalia Arno, who also left Russia.

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Arno, director of the NGO Free Russian Foundation in the United States, attended the Berlin meeting before travelling to Prague, where she experienced symptoms and discovered that her hotel room had been opened, according to Agentstvo. Leaving for the US the next day, she contacted a hospital there as well as the authorities.

Taking to Facebook, Arno discussed her problems of "sharp pain" and "numbness", saying the first "strange symptoms" appeared before she arrived in Prague. She said that she still had symptoms but felt better.

Further details are awaited.

Several poison attacks have been carried out abroad and in Russia against Kremlin opponents, but Russia has denied that its secret services were responsible.

Alexei Navalny, who is currently in jail, was poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-made nerve agent. On May 10, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture called for "urgent and comprehensive" medical care for Navalny following reports that his health was deteriorating.

In a statement, Alice Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, said, "I am distressed by the deteriorating state of Mr Navalny's health and the apparent lack of satisfactory diagnosis and medical treatment."

(With inputs from agencies)

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