Two Russian journalists complained about health problems on the sidelines of a conference critical of the Kremlin in Berlin. Were they poisoned?
View of the renovated Charité ward building on the Berlin-Mitte campus. According to the report, one of the women concerned was treated in the Berlin Charité.Monika Skolimowska/dpa
The police are apparently investigating two suspected poison attacks on Russian exiles in Berlin. A press spokesman for the Berlin police confirmed to the Berliner Zeitung that the incidents were being investigated. As from a report by world on Sunday shows that two Russian journalists complained about health problems on the sidelines of a conference critical of the regime in Berlin.
The police state protection of the State Criminal Police Office is processing the case, the police said. Due to the ongoing investigations, however, no further details could be given for the time being.
Possible nerve gas attack: Affected journalist describes symptoms
At the end of April, the women apparently took part in a conference held by Russian opponents of the Kremlin, Mikhail Chordorkovsky, in Berlin. According to the report, one of those affected was treated for health problems in the Berlin Charité before the conference.
The second person affected is the journalist Natalia Arno. She made the incident public on Facebook. “There is a suspicion that I was poisoned during my recent trip to Europe, possibly with some kind of nerve agent,” she writes in a post. After noticing the symptoms, she flew to the United States. “During the flight the symptoms became very strange, all over the body and with vivid numbness. I made it to the emergency room and it got worse,” Arno describes her experiences.
Various tests were finally carried out in the hospital. She is still suffering from symptoms of numbness but is feeling better overall.
It would not be the first time that a poison attack has been carried out on opponents of the Russian regime. Most recently, in August 2020, opposition politician Alexej Navalny was also treated at the Berlin Charité. According to investigations, he had been poisoned with the neurotoxin Novichok in Russia.
