Years before a Russian poison squad almost killed Alexei Navalny allegedly planting a Novichok-like nerve agent in his shorts, the same group was perfecting its skills with other Russian opposition figures, according to a new Bellingcat report.
The same agents who, according to Bellingcat, pursued, tracked down and spied on Navalny for more than three years also followed three other Russian dissidents, including Kremlin critic and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who, like Saudi dissident assassinated Jamal Khashoggi, contributed to He Washington Post.
Kara-Murza was poisoned twice, both incidents left him in prolonged coma as his vital organs close. Like Navalny’s alleged poisoning, Russian authorities refused to investigate the attacks on Kara-Murza despite the international outcry.
According to the Bellingcat report, two Russian hospitals and three independent examinations concluded that Kara-Murza was poisoned by an unidentified substance.
Using travel records, Bellingcat concluded that the same poisonous FSB squadron that Navalny tracked also appeared where Kara-Murza was for months before her first poisoning in 2015 and followed him again until he was poisoned in 2017. “The number of overlapping trips: seven destinations with 14 overlapping flights – make a coincident overlap statistically unlikely,” according to the Bellingcat report. At least once while chasing the journalist, the squadron was accompanied by Roman Mezentsev , who headed the FSB’s Constitution Protection and Counter-Terrorism Directorate, Bellingcat says Mezentsev was a close ally of Vladislav Surkov, Putin’s former adviser known in Kremlin circles as The Gray Cardinal.
According to reports, at least two members of the same poison squad also dragged Russian anti-corruption activist Nikita Isaev in the weeks leading up to her death on a train journey from Tambov to Moscow in 2019.
The research group says it has focused on the activities of the FSB poison squad outside Moscow because the overlap between officers and potential victims is more difficult to refute, but they do not rule out that officers would rather kill away from house. “This may be due to the supposedly low quality of emergency medical services in these regions; due to the relative ease of access to a target hotel room during travel; or even due to of the expected long-distance trips by its objectives during which medical care would be prevented, “reports Bellingcat. “However, the FSB Squadron’s observed preference for ‘out-of-Moscow’ poisonings can also be used as a substitute to determine its likely complicity in Moscow-based operations. with data from the Navalny and Isaev cases — that the squad usually pursues the goal of a political assassination for at least a few months before launching a success ”.
As Kara-Murza received treatment for her intoxication in the US, He Washington Post has asked the Biden administration to publish information on the substance used and whether it was banned, which could open the door to sanctions or more. At the end of last month, the Publication the editorial board wrote that since the office is “investigating this matter as a case of intentional poisoning,” it should disclose the details. “He has refused to publish the results of his laboratory tests, which could show whether Mr Kara-Murza, like Mr Navalny and other Kremlin targets, was attacked with a banned chemical weapon.”
He Publication he has also unsuccessfully petitioned members of Congress, including Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), a senior member of the intelligence committee who would be aware of the details of the matter. “In light of the series of attacks on Kremlin opponents and the imperative to make Putin’s regime responsible, it is not acceptable.” Publication wrote the editorial board. “The incoming Attorney General, Merrick Garland, should order the FBI to reveal what it knows about Mr. Kara-Murza.”