"Laboratory testing concluded the "deadly toxin found in the skin of Ecuador dart frogs," epibatidine, was found in samples from Navalny's body and highly likely resulted" in the 47-year-old pro-democracy activist's death in a Siberian penal colony in 2024, per a joint Saturday statement by the U.K. government on the findings. Of note: Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told state media the findings a "Western propaganda hoax," adding: "When the test results are available and the formulas for the substances are disclosed, we will comment accordingly.""
""But given the toxicity of epibatidine and reported symptoms, poisoning was highly likely the cause of his death," per the statement. "Navlny died while held in prison, meaning Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison to him." The statement noted a 2020 European probe found Navlny was left in a coma in a hospital in Berlin, Germany, after being attacked with Novichok - the same never agent used in the 2018 attempted assassinationof Sergei Skripal, a Russian former double agent who relocated to the U.K."
Laboratory testing of smuggled samples identified epibatidine, a highly toxic alkaloid associated with Ecuadorian poison frogs, in samples from Navalny's body. The tests came from laboratories in at least two countries and concluded epibatidine was highly likely to have resulted in the 47-year-old pro-democracy activist's death in a Siberian penal colony in 2024. Russian officials called the findings a "Western propaganda hoax" and said they would comment when test formulas are disclosed. European governments noted Russia had claimed natural causes, cited Navalny's detention as providing means and motive, and referenced a 2020 Novichok attack.
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