A man holds a candle and a photo of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at a makeshift memorial as people demonstrate and pay their respect following his death in prison, in front of former Russian consulate in Frankfurt, western Germany on Feb. 16.
Five European countries including Britain, France and Germany accused Russia of "poisoning" opposition leader Alexei Navalny in prison in 2024 using a "rare toxin", on Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
"We know the Russian state now used this lethal toxin to target Navalny in fear of his opposition," the U.K. foreign office said in a statement alongside Sweden, France, the Netherlands and Germany, ahead of the second anniversary of the death of the staunch critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Britain also said it had reported Russia to the world's chemical weapons watchdog.
It noted that consistent, collaborative work has confirmed through laboratory testing that the deadly toxin found in the skin of Ecuador dart frogs (epibatidine) was found in samples from Alexei Navalny’s body and highly likely resulted in his death.
Epibatidine can be found naturally in dart frogs in the wild in South America, said the statement, mentioning that dart frogs in captivity do not produce this toxin and it is not found naturally in Russia.
"There is no innocent explanation for its presence in Navalny’s body," the office added.
Moscow announced Navalny’s death in a Siberia prison in February 2024 while he was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism.
Russia's Federal Prison Service said the 47-year-old opposition figure "felt bad" after a walk and lost consciousness "almost immediately."
