[ad_1]
Russian critic Alexej Navalny reports that he spoke to his killer by phone. And that he, a secret service employee, confessed to the attack.
Alexej Navalny, leader of the Russian opposition, during a protest. (Archive)
Photo: Pavel Golovkin (AP / dpa)
According to Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny, an agent of the Russian national secret service FSB is said to have admitted to the poison attack on him.
Titled ‘I called my killer. He confessed, ”Navalny published this Monday a recording of a phone call with the alleged FSB agent on YouTube. Navalny pretended to be an assistant to the head of the Russian Security Council in the December 14 conversation, to gain the man’s trust.
The incognito call was made as part of an investigation by various outlets, including the news magazine “Spiegel”. The journalists had published the results of the investigation last week, according to which at least eight Russian intelligence agents allegedly carried out the attack on Navalny.
He survived because the flight didn’t last long
Navalny had collapsed on a domestic flight in August. The alleged FSB man said in the now-posted phone call that the poison was adhering to the inside of underwear. Navalny only survived the attack because the flight did not last long enough.
The pilot had made an emergency landing in the Siberian city of Omsk. Navalny was first taken to a hospital there and then flown to the Charité in Berlin.
Navalny is said to have been poisoned with a chemical nerve agent developed in the Soviet Union by the Novichok group. Russia had repeatedly denied allegations that it did nothing to resolve the case and requested evidence. At his big annual press conference, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin admitted that Navalny was being watched by the secret service. The president had emphasized that there was no reason to poison his fiercest opponent.
