The Council of the European Union on Friday imposed sanctions on six Russian scientists allegedly involved in Russia's chemical weapons program, claiming a connection between their work and the death of dissident Alexei Navalny in 2024.

The sanctioned individuals are said to be scientists and researchers within the military sphere, linked to the production of epibatidine, a deadly toxin identified in Navalny's body. Epibatidine is a toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America and is not naturally occurring in Russia, according to a joint statement by European countries.

Navalny, a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, faced multiple arrests, convictions, attacks, and at least one attempted assassination before dying in an Arctic penal colony. Russian officials claim he died of natural causes.

However, in February 2024, the governments of five European countries, including Germany, concluded that Navalny had been poisoned by a lethal toxin. He was previously poisoned in 2020 with a Novichok nerve agent, an attack European officials blamed on Russian authorities.

The EU says the sanctions are rooted in Moscow's alleged violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The six scientists will be banned from traveling to the EU, their assets frozen, and EU entities prohibited from economic ties with them.

Source: www.dw.com