Recuperating Navalny Makes New Demand

He wants his clothes back from Russia
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 21, 2020 10:10 AM CDT
Navalny to Russia: I Want My Clothes Back
Alexei Navalny and his wife, Yulia, pose for a photo in a hospital in Berlin.   (Navalny Instagram via AP)

Now that he's out of a coma and recovering, Alexei Navalny is back to making demands of Russia: This time, the opposition leader wants his clothes back. "Before they allowed for me to be taken to Germany, they took off all my clothes and sent me completely naked," Navalny wrote on his website, reports Reuters. Navalny says the clothes might be an important piece of evidence in proving he was poisoned. "I demand that my clothes be carefully packed in a plastic bag and returned to me," he wrote. The Kremlin continues to deny any involvement in Navalny's sickness.

Meanwhile, a former Soviet scientist involved in the development of the nerve agent Novichok—believed to have been used on Navalny—apologized for his role in developing the poison decades ago, reports Al Jazeera. "I offer my profound apologies to Navalny for the fact that I took part in this criminal business, developing this substance that he was poisoned with," chemist Vil Mirzayanov, who now lives in the US, told Russia's TV Rain. Mirzayanov's best guess, based on Navalny's symptoms, is that he ingested the toxin orally. He adds that Navalny should fully recover, though it could take a year. (Navalny might have been poisoned though a water bottle.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X