- 24 Aug 2020 20:55
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Initial tests conducted by the prestigeous Charité Hospital in Berlin indicate that Navalny was poisoned with a substance from the group of cholinesterase inhibitors. This is the same type of poison to which Novichok belongs, which was used to poison the former Soviet spy Skripal in the UK. The German chancellor has called on Russia to investigate the poisoning with full transparency. The Russian doctors still maintain that they found no sign of poisoning.
Navalny made a lot of enemies by exposing corruption. The most likely perpetrator is somebody he exposed.
Navalny made a lot of enemies by exposing corruption. The most likely perpetrator is somebody he exposed.
Since his admission at the weekend, Alexei Navalny has been receiving treatment at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The patient is being treated in intensive care and remains in medically induced coma. While his condition is serious, it is not currently life-threatening.
Following his admission, Mr. Navalny underwent extensive examination by a team of Charité physicians. Clinical findings indicate poisoning with a substance from the group of cholinesterase inhibitors. The specific substance involved remains unknown, and a further series of comprehensive testing has been initiated. The effect of the poison – namely, the inhibition of cholinesterase in the body – was confirmed by multiple tests in independent laboratories.
As a result of this diagnosis, the patient is now being treated with the antidote atropine. Alexei Navalny’s prognosis remains unclear; the possibility of long-term effects, particularly those affecting the nervous system, cannot be excluded.
The treating physicians remain in constant contact with Mr. Navalny’s wife. After close consultation with the patient’s wife, Charité is reassured that the decision to make details of the patient’s condition public would be in accordance with his wishes.
Statement by Charité: Clinical findings indicate Alexei Navalny was poisoned
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday called on Russia to investigate the suspected poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny and hold the perpetrators accountable after doctors found indications of a toxic substance in his body.
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Berlin’s Charite hospital said a team of doctors there had examined him in detail after his arrival. “Clinical findings indicate poisoning with a substance from the group of cholinesterase inhibitors,” the hospital said in a statement.
“The specific substance involved remains unknown, and a further series of comprehensive testing has been initiated.”
Russian health officials contradicted the German diagnosis, saying Navalny had tested negative for cholinesterase inhibitors when he was hospitalised in Omsk last week.
Navalny showed no signs of having been poisoned when he was admitted to the clinic and tests were carried out on him to check for a wide range of substances, including inhibitors, the health ministry in Omsk said in a statement.
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In their statement, the German doctors said Navalny was being treated in intensive care and remained in a medically induced coma. While his condition was serious, it was not currently life-threatening, they said.
The outcome remained uncertain and long-term effects, especially to the nervous system, could not be ruled out, the statement added.
Slideshow (3 Images)
Cholinesterase inhibitors are a group of chemical compounds used in everything from chemical weapons to pesticides designed to kill bugs, and human medicines designed to alleviate symptoms of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. Nerve gases and the so-called “Novichok” group of chemicals are also cholinesterase inhibitors.
The hospital statement said that Navalny was being treated with the antidote atropine.
That is the same drug used by British doctors to treat Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and his daughter Yulia, who were poisoned with a nerve agent in 2018 in Salisbury, England. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied involvement in that and other such incidents, calling accusations it was responsible anti-Russian provocations.
Merkel tells Russia to investigate suspected poisoning of Kremlin critic