- UK and partners are today exposing the tragic circumstances surrounding Alexei Navalny’s death and have confirmed there was poison found in samples from his body.
- As Ministers meet at the Munich Security Conference, this news comes on the two-year anniversary of Alexei Navalny’s death in a penal colony in Siberia.
- UK reporting the poisoning to the Organisation for the prohibition of Chemical Weapons as a flagrant violation by Russia of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and urges Russia to immediately cease this dangerous activity.
The UK is today exposing the brutal and barbaric circumstances surrounding the death of Alexei Navalny in a Russian prison.
Two years after the Munich Security Conference was shocked by the news of the leading Russian opposition figure’s death, consistent, collaborative work has confirmed through laboratory testing that the deadly toxin found in the skin of Ecuador dart frogs (epibatidine) was found in samples from Alexei Navalny’s body and highly likely resulted in his death.
Only the Russian state had the means, motive and opportunity to deploy this lethal toxin to target Navalny during his imprisonment in a Russian penal colony in Siberia, and we hold it responsible for his death.
Epibatidine can be found naturally in dart frogs in the wild in South America. Dart frogs in captivity do not produce this toxin and it is not found naturally in Russia. There is no innocent explanation for its presence in Navalny’s body.
Russia has brazenly developed and deployed this poison in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Russia’s egregious and irresponsible actions, including its barbaric full-scale invasion of Ukraine continue to threaten our shared security. Time and again the Russian state shows the depths it is willing to go to terrorise people and undermine democracy.
The UK has pursued the truth of Alexei Navalny’s death with partners from Sweden, France, the Netherlands and Germany. We know the Russian state now used this lethal toxin to target Navalny in fear of his opposition.
Today’s announcement comes as the Foreign Secretary attends the Munich Security Conference where she met with Yulia Navalnaya to reflect on her husband’s enduring legacy and outlined the painstaking laboratory work that has been carried out since his death in Russian captivity was discovered.
Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper said:
Since Yulia Navalnaya announced the loss of her husband here in Munich two years ago, the UK has pursued the truth of Alexei Navalny’s death with fierce determination
“Only the Russian Government had the means, motive and opportunity to deploy this lethal toxin against Alexei Navalny during his imprisonment in Russia.
Today, beside his widow, the UK is shining a light on the Kremlin’s barbaric plot to silence his voice.
Russia saw Navalny as a threat. By using this form of poison the Russian state demonstrated the despicable tools it has at its disposal and the overwhelming fear it has of political opposition.
The UK has informed the Organisation on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons of Russia’s blatant breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Alongside partners the UK will continue to hold Russia to account for its actions.
This alarming pattern of behaviour follows the targeting of the Skripal’s with Novichok on the streets of Salisbury in 2018 and Russian troops frequent use of chemical weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine.
It is clear Russia did not destroy all its chemical weapons as claimed in 2017, and that it has not renounced biological weapons, as it is obliged to under the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.
The Kremlin believes that it can develop these weapons covertly and without consequences. They are mistaken. The UK knows what Russia is doing and will expose and combat this activity at every opportunity.
The UK continues to stand with civil society and human rights defenders tirelessly to build a better future for Russia despite immense personal risk.
