Alexei Navalny Says Russia’s Putin Had Him Poisoned With Nerve Agent

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«I assert that [Vladimir] Putin was behind the crime, and I have no other explanation for what happened,» Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny told the German magazine Der Spiegel.

Navalny Instagram via AP

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Navalny Instagram via AP

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Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny Discharged From Berlin Hospital

While he was hospitalized, a German military lab found traces of Novichok in his biomedical samples. Further tests by labs in Sweden and France backed up those findings, fueling suspicions that Navalny’s poisoning was related to his opposition efforts.

European leaders have called for sanctions against Russia and Putin following the poisoning. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that Navalny «is the victim of a crime that intended to silence him.»

Navalny said in the interview that Putin might have been motivated to poison him because of unrest in Russia’s Khabarovsk region, where people demonstrated for weeks after the arrest of a popular governor, and fears that Russia could soon face a situation similar to the one in Belarus.

«He saw what happened in Khabarovsk, where people have been taking to the streets in protest for 80 days now and the Kremlin still has no idea what to do with them,» Navalny said. «The Kremlin realized they had to take extreme measures to prevent a ‘Belarusian scenario.’ «

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Alexei Navalny’s Accounts Reportedly Frozen While In Berlin Hospital After Poisoning

A spokesperson for Navalny has said his bank accounts have been frozen and his Moscow apartment seized during his hospitalization. The opposition leader told Der Spiegel that he still plans to return Russia.

«Not going back would mean that Putin has won and achieved his goal. And my job now is to remain the guy who isn’t afraid. And I’m not afraid,» Navalny said. «I would not give Putin the gift of not returning to Russia.»

NPR’s Lucian Kim contributed to this report.