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Navalny Was Under German Special Forces Protection During His Treatment in Berlin

© REUTERS / MAXIM SHEMETOVRussian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is seen on a screen via a video link during a court hearing to consider an appeal on his arrest outside Moscow, Russia January 28, 2021
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is seen on a screen via a video link during a court hearing to consider an appeal on his arrest outside Moscow, Russia January 28, 2021 - Sputnik International, 1920, 15.02.2021
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BERLIN (Sputnik) - Russian opposition figure Alexei Navlny was under protection of special services in Berlin, where he received medical treatment and recovered after the suspected poisoning, the German cabinet said on Monday, responding to a request by the Alternative for Germany parliamentary faction.

"Alexei Navalny was under protection from the moment he landed in Germany and until his departure. From 22 August 2020, to 31 August 2020, this was ensured by security forces of the federal criminal police department. Then, relevant state departments of the criminal police  took over the task," the cabinet said in a statement, seen by Sputnik.

The German cabinet said on Monday that Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny was accompanied only by his wife Yulia and his press secretary Kira Yarmysh when he arrived in Berlin in summer.

"Apart from Alexei Navalny, his wife Yulia Navalnaya and his press secretary Kira Yarmysh were on the Omsk-Berlin flight, which delivered them to Germany," the cabinet said, responding to a request by the Alternative for Germany parliamentary faction.

The German government also said that the women were not poisoned with the same substance that was allegedly used against Navalny.

"No, if they had been exposed to it, they should have had similar symptoms of poisoning by the moment when we received irrefutable evidence that Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group," the cabinet continued.

Navalny's Medical Tests

Traces of a poisonous substance in blood samples of Alexei Navalny, on a water bottle that was allegedly transported to Germany by his allies and some other items are identical, the German government said.

© SputnikAlexey Navalny talks to journalists before coming back to Moscow from Berlin, 17 January 2020
Navalny Was Under German Special Forces Protection During His Treatment in Berlin - Sputnik International, 1920, 15.02.2021
Alexey Navalny talks to journalists before coming back to Moscow from Berlin, 17 January 2020
"Yes," the government said in response to the lawmakers' question about lab results.

When asked which agency determined that a poison was present, the government said that "the question is linked to the information that concerns the public interest and therefore cannot be answered."

"No further information is available on water bottle regarding agencies, and the same applies to other items and their features," the government said.

Similar responses were given to the questions about who handed these items to German government agencies and where the items were being stored.

The government said it did not know whether employees of Charite clinic in Berlin, where Navalny was treated, wore clothes that could protect against the effects of an alleged chemical agent.

Navalny's Alleged Poisoning

Navalny was hospitalized in the Russian city of Omsk after suddenly falling ill. Doctors at Omsk hospital found no traces of poison in his blood or urine, and suggested that a metabolic malfunctions may have caused his condition. The opposition figure was later transported to Germany. The German government said shortly after that that traces of a nerve agent were discovered in Navalny's lab tests.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in December that there were checks into the situation, but a criminal case could not be launched without proper case materials, which Western countries refused to provide.

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