The German government is still looking into Russia's second request for legal assistance in probing the alleged poisoning of opposition figure Alexey Navalny and is yet to hand it to the Berlin office of justice, the Federal Justice Ministry said
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th September, 2020) The German government is still looking into Russia's second request for legal assistance in probing the alleged poisoning of opposition figure Alexey Navalny and is yet to hand it to the Berlin office of justice, the Federal Justice Ministry said.
Russia sent two requests for legal assistance to Germany - on August 27 and September 14. The first request has reached the Berlin prosecutor general's office. According to Moscow, Berlin is sidestepping its appeals to share Navalny's test results and samples and referring it to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The latter, in turn, refers Russia to Germany.
"This second request for legal assistance is being studied by the government. In this sense, the situation has not changed. It has not been sent to the Berlin office of justice yet," the ministry said.
Navalny fell ill during a domestic Russian flight on August 20. He was initially treated in the Siberian city of Omsk, where the plane had to urgently land. Two days later, once the doctors established he was fit for cross-border aerial transportation, the 44-year-old was flown to the Charite hospital in Berlin for further treatment.
Later, the German government said doctors had found traces of a nerve agent from the Novichok group in Navalny's system. According to Berlin, these conclusions were confirmed by labs in France and Sweden. Tests in Russia did not show traces of poison. Moscow demands that Germany provide evidence.
Navalny's condition has since improved. He is no longer on a ventilator and can get out of bed.
