Alexei Navalny poisoned. French minister attacks Putin

“Two years ago, Alexei Navalny died as a result of poisoning with one of the most deadly nerve agents. We now know that Vladimir Putin is ready to use chemical weapons against his own citizens to maintain power,” Barrot said.

Earlier on Sunday, the governments of five countries – Great Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands – announced in a joint statement that the cause of death of an opposition politician in a Russian prison was poisoning with a toxic substance.

Navalny was poisoned

“Only the Russian government had the means, motive and ability to use this deadly poison against Alexei Navalny during his stay in prison in Russia,” said British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper, quoted in the statement.

Russian independent media reported that testing of Navalny's DNA samples, which the deceased's family managed to obtain, was carried out independently in several laboratories in the five countries mentioned.

Navalny was arrested at Moscow airport on January 17, 2021, when he returned to Russia from treatment in Germany following a poisoning attempt. In February 2021, he was convicted and imprisoned in a penal colony, where – according to the Russian prison service – he died on February 16, 2024.

At the beginning of February this year. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg issued a ruling on a complaint filed by Navalny in 2021 following his arrest in Russia. The court found that by arresting the oppositionist, Russia had violated the right to life as enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Tribunal unanimously found that the articles relating to the right to life, the right to liberty and personal security, as well as the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment had been violated.

Navalny was initially known as an anti-corruption activist, then organized demonstrations against Vladimir Putin's rule.