British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for a full and transparent investigation into the apparent poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
“The poisoning of [Navalny] shocked the world. The UK stands in solidarity with him & his family. We need a full, transparent investigation into what happened. The perpetrators must be held accountable & the UK will join international efforts to ensure justice is done,” Johnson said Wednesday on Twitter.
The poisoning of Alexey @Navalny shocked the world. The UK stands in solidarity with him & his family. We need a full, transparent investigation into what happened. The perpetrators must be held accountable & the UK will join international efforts to ensure justice is done.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) August 26, 2020
Johnson’s remarks echo those of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who also said an investigation needed to be conducted.
“Mr. Navalny’s family and the Russian people deserve to see a full and transparent investigation carried out and for those involved to be held accountable,” Pompeo said on Tuesday.
Navalny, who is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critics, is in a coma and is being treated at a German hospital after being airlifted from Russia. The 44-year-old suddenly collapsed on a plane in Siberia earlier in August after drinking a cup of tea.
His spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, immediately alleged that he was poisoned, and after being transferred to Germany, doctors announced that Navalny “was poisoned by a substance from the group of active ingredients called cholinesterase inhibitors.”
The trip to Germany came with obstacles. Russian medical officials initially denied his team’s request to have Navalny transferred, citing his serious condition, but later relented after European experts who examined him said he was safe to travel. Navalny supporters have claimed that holding him in Russia was an attempt to conceal the truth about his poisoning.
The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the incident and said any attempts to tie Putin to Navalny’s situation are “empty noise.”
“We cannot take the accusations you have voiced seriously,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He also said it is too early for an investigation and called the German report about the poisoning “hasty.”
