There is "unequivocal" evidence that Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group, a German government spokesperson said on Wednesday.
This was the finding of a toxicology test carried out in a special laboratory of Germany's military, the Bundeswehr, spokesperson Steffen Seibert said in a statement.
Navalny, 44, was flown to Berlin for treatment on August 22, two days after he fell ill on a domestic flight in Russia. He has been one of the fiercest opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin during the past decade.
"It is a shocking event that Alexei Navalny has become the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve agent in Russia," Seibert said, adding that Chancellor Angela Merkel has been informed of the findings.
He once again called on Russia to conduct an investigation into the incident.
Russia denies evidence
Russian forensic experts reiterated they found no evidence to support the allegation that dissident Alexei Navalny had been poisoned during their investigations, Russian media reports in the wake of Germany's announcement that Navalny had a nerve agent in his system.
"No poisonous substances were discovered in Navalny's body or on his clothes," Russian state news agency TASS cited an undisclosed law enforcement source as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said, meanwhile, that Russian authorities had not been officially informed by Germany that the German government suspected that Navalny was poisoned with the chemical weapon Novichok.
"Such information had not been brought to our attention," Peskov said in comments carried by TASS. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Russian authorities were still waiting for Germany to comply with a request for evidence.
