UK sanctions Russian nationals linked to Navalny poisoning attack

The UK government on Friday imposed asset freezes and travel bans on seven Russian nationals, members of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) linked to the poisoning of Opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Navalny, a staunch critic of President Vladimir Putin, almost died from the attack with Novichok, a banned nerve agent, last year. On the anniversary of the poisoning, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the UK along with the US is taking action under its autonomous Chemical Weapons sanctions regime.

“Since the horrific poisoning of Alexey Navalny took place a year ago, the UK has been at the forefront of the international response against this appalling act,” said UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

“Through our chemical weapons sanctions regime and at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, we are sending a clear message that any use of chemical weapons by the Russian state violates international law, and a transparent criminal investigation must be held. We urge Russia to declare its full stock of Novichok nerve agents,” he said.

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The sanctioned individuals are said to be directly responsible for planning or carrying out the attack on Navalny in Tomsk on August 20 last year.

It marks the second round of sanctions under the UK’s autonomous Chemical Weapons regime. In October 2020, the UK sanctioned six individuals and one entity responsible for masterminding the poisoning of Navalny. Friday’s sanctions are targeted at those who carried out the attack.

The FCDO said the UK and its partners have repeatedly called on Russia to conduct a full and transparent criminal investigation into Navalny's poisoning. Russia continues to ignore these calls and has failed to provide a plausible explanation into how a nerve agent came to be used on Russian territory.

In light of Navalny’s “politically-motivated” arrest and detention and the upcoming State Duma elections, the UK said it also underlines its support for democracy, including free and fair elections, the rule of law and human rights in Russia.

In a joint statement with the US, Britain said it reaffirms its condemnation of the assassination attempt.

“Today the UK and the US join in taking further action against the individuals directly responsible for carrying out the poisoning of Mr Navalny. As we did after Russia’s use of a chemical weapon against the Skripals in the United Kingdom in March 2018, we continue to underline that there must be accountability and no impunity for those that use chemical weapons,” the joint statement reads.

“We reiterate our interest in stable and predictable relations with Russia, on the basis of full compliance with and implementation of international obligations and commitments,” it added.