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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said reports revealing new details about the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny were “funny to read.”
A CNN
-Bellingcatinvestigation into the apparent attack found evidence that Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, formed a team that specialized in nerve agents similar to the one Navalny was poisoned with and had been keeping tabs on the 44-year-old dissident for years before he collapsed during an August flight and was rushed to the hospital.
“We are already used to the fact that the United States and other Western countries simply announce in the media yet another set of accusations against Russia, be it hackers or some kind of a sensation about the double or even triple poisoning of Navalny,” Lavrov told reporters.
Russian Prosecutors Reportedly Seeking Lengthy Prison Terms For Couple In Treason Trial
December 16, 2020 12:50 GMT
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A Russian couple that is on trial for high treason for photographs taken at their wedding five years ago which revealed the identity of a security operative when published online could face lengthy prison terms.
Prosecutors in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad have asked the court to sentence Konstantin Antonets to 13 years in prison and his wife, Antonina Zimina, to 14 years, according to media reports.
A verdict in the trial is expected on December 24, reports said.
Antonets and Zimina were detained in July 2018 in Kaliningrad and went on trial behind closed doors in May. The couple maintains they are innocent.
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Moscow has denied any involvement in the Kremlin critic s illness.
Lavrov said the investigation by media outlets proved that Western countries lack any skills for normal diplomatic work and an unwillingness to comply with international legal norms when it comes to establishing facts.
The European Union has slapped entry bans and bank account freezes on six people suspected of being responsible for Navalny’s poisoning, including FSB chief Aleksandr Bortnikov.
Navalny, who is currently in Germany where he is recovering, said his poisoning case was now solved, despite the absence of an official investigation in Russia.
A Bad Day to Give Putin Good Press
Since November’s vote, the results of which were never ambiguous, almost everyone has played the president’s game.
Donald Trump pretends that he won a race he decisively lost. Elected Republicans, who believe they are still beholden to Trump’s devoted followers, make-believe along with him. And the news media, presumably in opposition to both, maintain an ever-watchful eye on anyone in Trump’s orbit who breaks from the party line. This dance actively preserves the state of suspended animation in which American politics has languished for the last six weeks.
HeadlineDec 15, 2020
A new investigation into the poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny claims a team of intelligence agents with Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, were involved in the act. Some of the agents specialized in toxins and nerve agents. They had reportedly been trailing Navalny for three years prior to his poisoning in August with the nerve agent Novichok. Navalny is still recovering in Berlin. The probe was conducted by journalists at a number of outlets, including CNN and Der Spiegel, as well as the online investigative website Bellingcat.
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