Can Putin have Navalny killed in Germany too? Since Saturday evening he has been lying heavily poisoned in the Berlin Charité. The intensive care unit is like a high-security facility, because fear remains.
- Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was hospitalized after losing consciousness on a flight. Presumably it was poisoned .
- The Kremlin critic was brought to Germany on a special flight on Saturday , where he is now being treated at the Charité in Berlin .
- Now EPP group leader Manfred Weber finds clear words for the Navalny case - and the danger posed by Vladimir Putin .
Update from August 25, 10:25 am: In the case of the allegedly poisoned Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny , the EU is demanding an "independent and transparent investigation" from Russia. The European Union strongly condemns the alleged "attack on Nawalny's life", said the EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell on Monday evening in Brussels. The Russian authorities must "without delay" launch an independent investigation into the alleged attack on Navalny's life, said Borrell. The Russian people as well as the international community wanted to know "the facts behind Mr. Navalny's poisoning". Those responsible for this would have to be “held accountable”.
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) had previously made a similar statement (see below). Gernot Erler (SPD) , the former Federal Government Commissioner for Russia, said on Monday evening in the ARD “Tagesthemen” that anyone who knows the diplomatic language knows that the demands correspond to “what was possible today” Being able to name the initiator in order to be able to take other measures.
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) appeals to Russia on the Navalny matter. (Archive image)
© Christophe Simon / dpa / AFP POOL via AP
It is now possible to make it clear in all discussions that “this is a catastrophe for Russia's reputation in the world”. This has "definitely had an effect" on some Russian politicians. He sees no other option for direct action as long as the case is not really cleared up, said Erler. The Russia expert suspected a connection between the Navalny case and an election on September 13th , for which Navalny had nominated candidates in Siberia. "Of course this is an attempt to intimidate," he said.
"The outcome of the disease remains uncertain, and long-term consequences, especially in the area of the nervous system, cannot be ruled out at this point in time," the Berlin Charité had previously announced with a view to Nawalny's condition . According to their own statements, the Russian doctors had found no evidence of poisoning with a cholinesterase inhibitor in their examinations - in contrast to the doctors at the Berlin Charité Clinic, where the 44-year-old is now being treated.
Alexej Navalny: Charité doctors assume poisoning - Merkel calls for "deed to be investigated down to the last detail"
Update from August 24, 2020, 6.46 p.m.: Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas have again called for clarification in a joint statement from Moscow , as reported by Welt . "In view of Mr. Navalny's prominent role in the political opposition in Russia , the authorities there are now urgently called upon to investigate this act to the last detail - and in full transparency," wrote Merkel and Maas in the statement. Those responsible “must be identified and held accountable”. It goes on to say: “We hope that Mr. Navalny can fully recover. Our best wishes also go to his family, who are going through a difficult trial. "
Update of August 24, 2020 16:10: New developments in the case Navalny : Doctors of the Berlin Charité assume that the Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny poisoned was. This was indicated by clinical findings, the clinic announced on Monday in Berlin. Nawalny's health is serious, but there is no acute danger to life.
Doctors now assume that Navalny was poisoned.
© Kay Nietfeld / dpa
The specific substance is not yet known. However, the first investigations indicated a substance from the group of active ingredients called cholinesterase inhibitors, it said. Navalny is now being treated with the antidote atropine. The effect of the toxin has been proven several times and in independent laboratories.
The outcome of the disease remains uncertain and long-term consequences, especially in the area of the nervous system, cannot be ruled out at the moment, the spokeswoman said.
Navalny: Russian newspaper publishes surveillance log
Meanwhile, the state-affiliated Moscow tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets wants to rebut the poisoning allegation . The newspaper published a surveillance report to show that Moscow had Navalny under constant control and therefore had no reason to poison him.
Navalny was under constant surveillance by the authorities. With the surveillance log, you can see exactly your movements over the past few days. Moscow, for example, knew exactly which sushi he had eaten and which hotel rooms he had booked. We also know about his walks along the quayside in Tomsk and about his swimming trip to the village of Kaftanschikowo. It becomes clear how closely the Kremlin is monitoring the opposition in its own country.
The newspaper comes to the conclusion that if Navalny was actually poisoned, then this could only have happened at Tomsk airport or on the plane itself. Because there the secret service would not have had access to the opposition.
Alexej Navalny: Kremlin denies Putin's influence on transport to Germany
Update of August 24, 2020 14:02: The Russian President Vladimir Putin has, according to the Kremlin does not affect the transport of potentially poisoned oppositionists Alexei Navalny taken to Germany. "That is absolutely not the prerogative of the president," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday, according to the Tass state agency. There were also no international negotiations on this.
Putin's spokesman stressed that the responsible authorities acted very quickly. "All permits and formalities were quickly clarified." The special flight was released without any problems when the doctors declared Navalny to be transportable, said Peskow. The flight to Germany for treatment was a private initiative of the Cinema for Peace initiative led by Jaka Bizilj.
Nevertheless, Finland's President Sauli Niinistö may have played a mediating role. He spoke first with Chancellor Angela Merkel and then with Putin about Navalny's transport. However, it is not clear how great the importance of the conversation was.
Federal government believes a poison attack on Navalny is possible
Meanwhile, the federal government sees “a certain probability” that Navalny was poisoned. It is a patient "on whom a poison attack has been carried out with a certain probability," said government spokesman Steffen Seibert . Seibert justified the fact that the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) takes care of the security of Nawalnys, who is treated in the Berlin Charité.
Government spokesman Seibert did not comment on the health of the 44-year-old Kremlin critic. Only his doctors and family could provide information about this. He also pointed out that Navalny's transport and accommodation had been organized privately.
CSU man Weber on Navalny case: "Putin also capable of killing people"
First report from August 24, 2020:
Berlin - More and more experts are certain: It was attempted murder . With symptoms of poisoning, Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny has been in an intensive care unit in Berlin's Charité since Saturday evening . His room is closely guarded around the clock and only the doctors, his wife Julia and his closest confidants have access.
The health of the Russian opposition leader - Navalny was not the first victim of an attempted murder - remains critical. Apparently he is still in a coma and is artificially ventilated, as the Berliner Morgenpost reports. By transferring him from Russia to Germany , those responsible wanted to ensure that Putin's popular politician would be removed from his sphere of influence. Because there is still a fear in the room: is Navalny safe from Vladimir Putin in Berlin ?
In last night also discussed EPP Group Chairman Manfred Weber , who lives in exile in America ex-world chess champion Garry Kasparov , foreign policy expert of the Greens, Jürgen Trittin and " Cinema for Peace " managing director Jaka Bizilj , of the special flight for Navalny helped organize at Bild.de . Weber in particular found clear words for the enormous danger that Putin posed .
For the EPP parliamentary group leader , the connections are obvious: in a few weeks elections would take place in Russia , in which 18 regions would have to elect a new governor . Putin's power structure in the country has been wavering for some time. Not only he himself as president , but also his party depends on votes, said Weber. Above all, the economic stagnation in Russia puts Putin's system under "massive pressure".
Putin under pressure: Navalny also in danger in Berlin's Charité?
In this critical situation, Putin would be capable of a lot, so the decided opinion of the EPP parliamentary group leader - and that includes “killing people”. According to this, Navalny is still in great danger - even on German soil. Because here too, agents of the Russian secret service have already managed to carry out their murder orders several times.
Vladimir Putin in 2006 at a shooting range in the new headquarters of the Russian secret service in Moscow. (Archive image)
© Picture Alliance / Itar-Tass / epa / dpa
At Bild Live , Kasparov , who himself lives in exile , also speaks Tacheles: “While we are talking, Putin continues to kill”, because there have been cases in which people have been poisoned several times. Around a year ago, a Georgian ex-military man was murdered in the Kleiner Tiergarten in Berlin - presumably also on behalf of the Kremlin. Trittin, on the other hand, assures on the show that Navalny is well protected in his intensive care bed by the Berlin state police and the BKA .
The suspicion is strong that the #Nawalny case is another state murder. He is part of a series of attacks on Russian oppositionists and defectors. It is good and right to offer Navalny medical help from #Germany and treat him here.
- Norbert Röttgen (@n_roettgen) August 21, 2020Whether Putin is planning a new attack or not - he seems to have achieved one thing for sure: Nalwalny is now politically out of bounds . His confidant, Bizilj, reckons that if he survives the poisoning , he will not be able to participate in the election campaign for weeks. It would also be highly doubtful whether he would return to Russia "at risk of death " , said Bizilj .
Russia receives signal: Merkel appoints Navalny as "state guest"
At the weekend the Chancellor had herselfAngela Merkel * was used for Navalny's export from Omsk in Siberia and his transport to the Charité in Berlin and, according to media reports, officially declared the opponent of the Kremlin to be a “state guest”. The denied government spokesman Steffen Seibert, however. There is “no formal invitation”. Merkel had merely declared her willingness to allow the possibly poisoned Navalny to enter the country for humanitarian reasons at the request of the family. However, the transport and treatment were organized privately. Many German politicians, such as Norbert Röttgen , support the Chancellor's commitment via Twitter. A sign for the Russian government to a murder attempt on Navalny would also risk a conflict with Germany. (cos) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.
Worldwide there is speculation whether North Korea's ruler Kim Jong-un is again in a coma. The neighboring country of South Korea now fears a power vacuum in the communist state.
List of rubric lists: © Screenshot: ARD-Mediathek
