Germany investigating suspected poisoning of exiled Russian women: Report

By Timo Kirezf

GENEVA (AA) – German police are investigating the possible poisoning of two exiled Russian women in Berlin, local media reported on Sunday.

The women attended a conference by Russian Kremlin critic Mikhail Khordorkovsky in Berlin at the end of April, according to German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

A case has been opened by the Berlin State Criminal Police Office, the report said, without giving any further details.

An earlier report by Russian investigative media outlet Agentstvo identified one of the women as Natalia Arno, an activist and head of the Free Russia Foundation.

In a social media post, Arno complained of “strange symptoms” and “acute pain,” expressing suspicion that she may have been poisoned by “some nerve agent.”

Arno said she immediately returned to the US and sought medical help.

The other woman was a journalist who recently left Russia, according to Agentstvo.

It said her symptoms may have started before the April 29-30 event in Berlin.

She went to the Charite University Hospital in Berlin, where Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny was treated for poisoning in August 2020.

Western countries and Navalny himself blamed Russia for the poisoning, a claim denied by the Kremlin.