Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. (AP)
The German hospital treating Russian dissident Alexei Navalny says tests indicate that he was poisoned.
The Charité hospital said in a statement Monday that the team of doctors who have been examining Navalny since he was admitted Saturday have found the presence of “cholinesterase inhibitors” in his system.
They say at the moment the specific substance is not yet known.
The hospital says “the patient is in an intensive care unit and is still in an induced coma. His health is serious but there is currently no acute danger to his life.”
Paramedics load a stretcher into an ambulance that allegedly transported Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at Charite Mitte Hospital Complex where he will receive medical treatment in Berlin, Germany August 22, 2020. (Reuters)
Navalny, a 44-year-old politician and corruption investigator who is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics, was admitted to an intensive care unit in Omsk, Russia on Thursday.
His supporters believe that tea he drank was laced with poison — and that the Kremlin is behind both his illness and the delay in transferring him to a top German hospital.
Russian doctors have said, however, that tests have shown no traces of poison in his system. The Kremlin hasn't yet commented on the allegation.
He was transported to a German hospital Saturday.
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