German Media: UK Sanctions 7 Individuals and 2 Institutions Over Alleged Poisoning Case Involving Former Opposition Leader

The UK announced sanctions on seven individuals and two research institutions on Monday, alleging their links to Russia's chemical weapons programme and involvement in developing toxins used to poison Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

The Foreign Office stated in a statement that the sanctions target two major scientific research centers in Russia responsible for leading chemical weapons development, as well as key individuals involved in producing toxic chemicals.

The sanctioned institutions include the Russian Academy of Sciences and the State Scientific Research Institute of Military Medicine and Testing (GNIII VM). The individuals subject to sanctions are the heads and technical experts from these two institutions.

Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny fell seriously ill during a flight in Siberia in 2020. Western laboratories concluded he had been poisoned by Novichok, a nerve agent.

The Kremlin has denied allegations that the Russian state used poison derived from arrow frog toxins to kill Navalny.

Russia Accused of "Repeated Use" of Chemical Weapons

The UK government said on Monday that some of those sanctioned were involved in the development of Novichok and epibatidine—a highly toxic chemical compound. London officials stated that it was epibatidine that was used in the attack against Navalny.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Russia's repeated use of chemical weapons violates international law and poses a threat to global security.

The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on the new sanctions measures.

Novichok is a class of military-grade nerve agents developed during the Soviet era. The toxin was previously used in the 2018 poisoning attack in Salisbury, UK, targeting Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. Both survived after medical treatment. However, the incident resulted in the death of a civilian who came into contact with a discarded container of the poison.

Source: DW

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1870048282505353/

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