Boris Johnson calls for a ‘transparent investigation’ into Alexei Navalny poisoning
Boris Johnson has called for a “transparent” investigation into the poisoning of Russian political activist and Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny.
The Prime Minister said the UK “stands in solidarity” with Navalny and that the country would “join international efforts to ensure justice is done”.
Navalny, who is one of the Russian government’s most prominent opponents, fell ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow last week.
He was first treated in a Russian hospital, before being transferred to Berlin where doctors concluded that he had been posioned.
He is in a critical condition, however doctors say “there is currently no acute danger to his life”.
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Many of Navalny’s supporters have said the Russian government were responsible for the poisoning.
Russia is thought to have used poison to silence its enemies in the recent past, including former spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018.
It is also believed that former spy Alexander Litvinenko was murdered by the Russian state, after his drink was poisoned at a London coffee shop in 2006.
Johnson tweeted today that the poisoning of Navalny “shocked the world”.
“The UK stands in solidarity with him and his family,” he said.
“We need a full, transparent investigation into what happened.
“The perpetrators must be held accountable and the UK will join international efforts to ensure justice is done.”
Navalny came to prominence in Russia through his anti-corruption campaigning on YouTube and for organising a slew of anti-Putin protests.
He has been arrested multiple times by the Russian police for alleged crimes such as embezzlement, however experts believe these have all been brought against him falsely in an attempt to discredit the 44-year-old.
He tried to run against Putin the 2018 election, but was barred by Russia’s Central Electoral Commission.