The Insider reports having accessed hundreds of official documents related to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in prison.
According to The Insider, the documents in question detail how the authorities have purposefully removed all indications of symptoms that do not correspond to the official version of Navalny’s death. According to doctors, these symptoms clearly indicate Navalny was poisoned.
Among other things, two versions of the refusal of to commence a criminal case, signed by investigator Aleksander Varapayev, have come into the possession of The Insider. In the earlier version, Navalny’s symptoms are described as follows: “The convicted Navalny (…) felt a sharp deterioration in his state of health, of which he informed the officer on duty of the institution (…). After that, Navalny fell to the floor and began to complain of sharp pain in the abdominal area, he began to reflexively eject the contents of the stomach, had cramps and lost consciousness”.
In the later version, all references to abdominal pain, vomiting and cramps were no longer mentioned. But The Insider has another document in its possession – a list of evidence that also includes “vomiting mass samples” handed over for examination, although there is no official information about the examination or about the vomiting itself.
The documents confirm Yulia Navalnaya’s claims that “in the last minutes before his death, he complained of sharp abdominal pain.”
According to intensive care specialist Aleksander Polupan, who treated Navalny at the Omsk hospital after his ”Novichok poisoning” in 2020, the symptoms mentioned in the documents do not correspond to the official version.
“The official cause of death – heart rhythm disturbances – can in no way explain the symptoms we see in the ruling – sharp abdominal pain, vomiting and cramps. These symptoms can hardly be explained by anything other than poisoning. The short time interval between abdominal pain and cramps speaks in favour of the fact that it could have been, for example, an organophosphorus substance. Substances of this group also include Novichok,” claims Polupan.
Other doctors interviewed by The Insider also agree with Polupan’s conclusions.
Other facts also speak in favour of the use of poison – the Russian authorities did not return the corpse for a long time and would not allow an alternative examination.