Two years after the death of Alexei Navalny, five European nations have claimed that Russia used epibatidine, a poison derived from dart frogs, to kill the prominent Kremlin critic. This neurotoxin, more potent than morphine, can cause muscle twitching, paralysis, seizures, slow heart rate, respiratory failure and ultimately death
Alexei Navalny was Russia’s most prominent opposition leader and Kremlin critic until he died under mysterious circumstances two years ago while being imprisoned in an Arctic penal colony.
Now, five European countries — the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands — have accused
Russia of using a toxin from poison dart frogs to kill Navalny.
The revelation by the five nations came on Saturday (February 14) with a joint statement saying, “Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison.” Moreover, the five nations said they were reporting Russia to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for a breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
We take a closer look at what is this rare toxin and how it was used to allegedly kill Navalny.
What do the five nations claim on Navalny’s killing?
• On Saturday, the UK, Germany, France, Sweden and the Netherlands noted that analyses of samples from
Navalny’s body “conclusively” confirmed the presence of epibatidine, a toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America and not found naturally in Russia. It’s not clear as to how the European nations gathered samples from Navalny’s body.
• “Russia claimed that Navalny died of natural causes. But given the toxicity of epibatidine and reported symptoms, poisoning was highly likely the cause of his death,” said a statement by the five nations. “Navalny died while held in prison, meaning Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison to him,” the countries added.
• The UK’s foreign office said in a statement, “We know the Russian state now used this lethal toxin to target Navalny in fear of his opposition.”
• In their joint statement, the countries said that there was a need for Russia to be held accountable for “its repeated violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention and, in this instance, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention”.
What is epibatidine, the dart frog toxin?
• Scientists note that Epibatidine is a neurotoxin secreted by dart frogs in the wild in South America. These small and brightly coloured frogs are typically found in rainforests.
• Scientists have found that only the frogs that live in the wild create this neurotoxin. Captive-bred frogs lack the ability to create Epibatidine.
• The frogs produce the chemical through eating the right foods to produce alkaloids — a type of organic compound — that make epibatidine and accumulate it in their skin.
• Toxicology expert Jill Johnson told the BBC that Epibatidine is “200 times more potent” than morphine.
• Besides being found naturally on the skin of these frogs, this neurotoxin can also be manufactured in a laboratory, which European scientists suspect was the case with the substance used on Navalny.
• Scientists first got interested in Epibatidine because it reportedly possesses pain-relief properties. However, owing to its extreme toxicity, it has never been approved for medical use across the globe.
What are the effects of this dart frog toxin on the human body?
• Epibatidine acts on nicotinic receptors in the nervous system. Scientists note it can cause muscle twitching, paralysis, seizures, slow heart rate, respiratory failure and ultimately death.
• Alastair Hay, emeritus professor of environmental toxicology at the University of Leeds, also told The Guardian that the effect of blocking nicotinic receptors is muscle paralysis and paralysis of the respiratory system. “So, breathing is blocked, and any person poisoned dies from suffocation.”
• Dr Eric Franssen, doctor in clinical toxicology and pharmacology at the Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis hospital in the Netherlands, also told Sky News, “There have been reports that people may die after 10 to 20 minutes of intake of this when you have a certain amount of these toxins.”
How has Navalny’s wife, Yulia, reacted?
• Navalny’s widow,
Yulia Navalnya, said it was now “science-proven” that the Kremlin opponent had been murdered.
• On the sidelines of the
Munich Security Conference, Navalnya said: “Two years ago, I came on stage here and said that it was Vladimir Putin who killed my husband. I was of course certain that it was a murder… but back then it was just words. But today, these words have become science-proven facts.”
• “I am grateful to the European states for the meticulous work they carried out over two years and for uncovering the truth,” she said, adding: “Vladimir Putin is a murderer. He must be held accountable for all his crimes.”
How has Russia responded to Navalny poisoning claims?
• Following the statement from the five European nations, Russia, who has maintained that Navalny died of natural causes, denied being involved, dismissing the latest allegations as “a Western propaganda hoax”.
• The Russian embassy in London said: “One must ask what kind of person would believe this nonsense about a frog.”
• “When the test results are available and the formulas for the substances are disclosed, we will comment accordingly,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by TASS. “Until then, all such assertions are merely propaganda aimed at diverting attention from pressing Western issues.”
With inputs from agencies
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