German authorities have launched an investigation into suspected poisoning after a journalist and a Russian activist in exile reported health problems after attending a meeting of dissidents in Berlin, police revealed to AFP on Sunday. A Berlin police spokesman confirmed that investigations are ongoing, backing up reports published Saturday night in Die Welt newspaper, although no further details on the process were provided.
Russian investigative media outlet Agentstvo this week highlighted health problems experienced by two participants at a meeting of Russian dissidents on April 29–30, organized by businessman and Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
One of the participants, identified as a journalist who recently left Russia, presented unspecified symptoms during the event and stated that they could have started earlier.
The media outlet also reported that the journalist went to the Charité hospital in Berlin, where Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who was poisoned in August 2020, was treated.
The second participant mentioned is Natalia Arno, director of the US-based NGO Free Russia Foundation, where she has lived for the past 10 years after leaving Russia.
Arno was in Berlin in late April before heading to Prague, where she experienced symptoms and discovered that her hotel room had been broken into, Agentstvo reported.
The next day, he moved to the United States, where he contacted a hospital and authorities.
This week, Arno posted a message on Facebook explaining that he experienced “shooting pains” and “numbness” and mentioned that the first “strange symptoms” arose before he arrived in Prague. He added that he still has symptoms but is in better condition.
Several poison attacks have been reported in recent years, both abroad and in Russia, against opponents of the Kremlin. Moscow denies that its secret services are responsible for these acts.
In the Navalny case, European laboratories confirmed the use of Novichok, a nerve agent developed in the Soviet Union.