European govts: Russian oppn leader Navalny was poisoned with frog toxin

London: Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in prison two years ago, was most likely poisoned by a toxin found in a South American frog, the foreign ministries of Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands said Saturday in a joint statement.Samples taken from Navalny’s body showed the presence of a toxic substance, epibatidine, the statement said. “Epibatidine is a toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America. It is not found naturally in Russia,” the statement said. The findings directly challenge the official account from Russian authorities, which was that he died of natural causes. Instead, the statement said, the presence of a foreign toxin shows that Russian authorities most likely killed Navalny, who was the govt’s most prominent political opponent when he died in a maximum-security prison in the Russian Arctic in 2024.“Navalny died while held in prison, meaning Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison to him,” the joint statement said. “It was also clear evidence that Russia has not ended its use of chemical weapons, disregarding international law.”Aides to Navalny have said that he was close to being released in a prisoner exchange with the West when he died. They argued that by killing him, the Kremlin would have removed Navalny from consideration in the exchange negotiations. Russia and Belarus ended up releasing 16 people, including several political prisoners and American journalist Evan Gershkovich, in an exchange in August 2024.News reports said in 2024 that US intelligence officials did not believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered Navalny’s death, even as they saw him as ultimately responsible because of the conditions that Navalny had to endure after his imprisonment in early 2021. The US govt did not immediately comment on the statement by the five European countries. nyt