The editor-in-chief of “Echo of Moscow” publicly accused the Russian authorities of poisoning Navalny
Listen, but this is already an article of the Criminal Code! First of all, for libel. It is precisely this that the statement of the editor-in-chief of the main information mouthpiece of the liberal opposition “Echo of Moscow“ radio station Aleksey Venediktov, who on October 22nd publicly accused the Russian authorities of trying to kill a person with a military poison, now “attracts”.
“At this moment, I have no doubt that Aleksey Navalny was poisoned. ‘Novichok’ or a subtance resembling ‘Novichok’, or a substance from the ‘Novichok’ group. But the fact that he was poisoned with a military toxic substance is obvious to me,” Venediktov confidently said on the “Echo of Moscow” radio station live.
He stressed that the available evidence allegedly does not allow us to say the opposite. “Perhaps there will be some additional information later that will shake my opinion, but for today I don’t see how it can arise. There is direct evidence – 5 laboratories found traces in Navalny’s tests caused by a substance similar to ‘Novichok’. Second – where are the clothes they brought him to the hospital in? Why don’t they give them back? What are you hiding? And where is the video footage of the hotel corridors that were seized? This is the third,” explained A. Venediktov.
The chief editor of “Echo” noted that “on the one hand, there is laboratory data, on the other – the Russian authorities’ incomprehensible actions“. “All this leads me to believe that, most likely, Navalny was poisoned with a military toxic substance at least with the support of the state or state structures,” A. Venediktov concludes with a serious look.
A banal lie
How could he be so sure? Is he an expert on chemical warfare agents? A doctor? An investigator? No? Then it is clear that he can draw such accusations only from reports based on nothing statements of western politicians and articles/fakes in the western press. And also on the basis of unsubstantiated conclusions of specialists of the Bundeswehr, who gave Navalny the initial diagnosis, and even on the conclusions of western laboratories, to which these “doctors” in uniform sent the same processed tests for research.
And why does Venediktov say nothing, for example, about the OPCW conclusion, which did not find any “Novichok” in Navalny’s analysis? Why is he silent about the fact that the German side categorically refuses to acquaint Russian experts with its conclusions, citing certain “secrecy” considerations? Why does Germany refuse to cooperate with Russia in the investigation of what happened to Navalny?
It is quite obvious that Venediktov, of course, does not and cannot have any “evidence”, and he is simply lying in a banal way.
But why? Yes, for the simple reason that for the liberal opposition, any means are good just to blame the authorities. But does the editor-in-chief of “Echo of Moscow” now understand that by brazenly and unsubstantiatedly accusing the Russian authorities of poisoning Navalny with a military poison, he can now be held liable for this slander under article 129 of the Criminal Code, paragraph 5, which states: “Slanderous actions shown in combination with a false accusation of a serious crime, entail a penalty of up to 5,000,000 rubles or the award of correctional labor for 480 hours.”
A convincing statement by the President
Especially since exactly on the day when the slanderous statement of his editor-in-chief appeared on the “Echo” website, Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he brazenly accused of being involved in the poisoning of Navalny, gave an exhaustive explanation of the strange situation with the blogger at a meeting of the Valdai discussion club.
The President recalled that he personally asked the Prosecutor General’s Office to allow Aleksey Navalny to leave Russia, despite possible restrictions for this due to the criminal case. Putin noted that he gave such an order immediately after the blogger’s wife addressed him.
“I immediately instructed the Prosecutor’s Office to check the possibility of him going abroad for treatment. Meaning that they could not have released him, because he had restrictions related to the judicial investigation and criminal case,” the president explained. The head of state also noted that in a conversation with one of his European colleagues, he suggested sending Russian specialists to Germany for a joint investigation.
“We would have worked on the spot, received some materials. And these materials could form the basis for initiating a criminal case, if this is really a criminal event, to investigate it. But they don’t give anything,” he said.
In addition, Putin expressed doubts about the information about the detection of traces of “Novichok” in Navalny’s body. “Well, they said they found traces of ‘Novichok’ there. Then all this was passed to the OPCW… and suddenly we are told: this is not ‘Novichok’, it’s something else. <…> So is it ‘Novichok’ or not? There are already doubts about what was said at the beginning,” the president added. He also noted that if the authorities “would like to poison someone, it is unlikely that they would send him to Germany for treatment”.
The “fatally poisoned” is already at the holiday resort
We remind those who do not know. As is known, Navalny was hospitalised in Omsk on August 20th after he fell ill on the plane. Omsk doctors called the main diagnosis a metabolic disorder that caused a sharp change in blood sugar. According to Russian doctors, no poisons were found in Navalny’s blood or urine. At the request of Navalny’s family, they were transported to Germany for treatment, after which the German government, citing military doctors, said that the Russian was allegedly poisoned with a substance from the “Novichok” group of toxic chemicals.
Later, the German Cabinet said that the conclusions of German experts were confirmed by laboratories in Sweden and France. And the OPCW said that a substance similar in characteristics to “Novichok” was found in Navalny’s body, but not listed as a banned chemical. As a result, Navalny was discharged from the hospital, his condition is satisfactory, the attending doctors did not rule out his full recovery. And judging by the blogger’s latest statements and photos posted online of the “victim” of the deadly “Novichok”, Navalny is cheerful, moderately well-fed and gaining strength for new “exploits” at one of the German luxury resorts, where he is carefully guarded by police, and in his free time from walking in the fresh air, he talks with mentors from the CIA.
And this is, sorry, state treason!
But it’s not just about lying as one breathes. What Mr. Venediktov and his “Echo” are doing now is not only a libel Criminal Code article, but a much more serious accusation. The fact is that those like him have already started to fabricate fakes in support of the western provocation about Russia’s alleged involvement in what happened to Navalny. So, along with the accusation of Venediktov himself, the “Echo” website also posted a “informational” message about the dismissal of the first Deputy Director of the FSB, Army General Sergey Smirnov.
“Putin, according to media reports,” writes the author of this message on “Echo”, “dismissed the curator of the Second FSB service, which is associated with the poisoning of Navalny… RBK sources say that Smirnov is retiring on superannuation, since this year he turned 70. At the same time, Novaya Gazeta reminds that in the FSB, Smirnov managed the work of the Department of Military Counterintelligence, the Economic Security Service, and the Service for the Protection of the Constitutional Order. It is also called the Second Service of the FSB – and it is precisely him, as claimed by the British newspaper The Guardian, citing sources in the intelligence services of Germany, Britain and France, who may be involved in the poisoning of Russian politician Aleksey Navalny.”
Get the hint? Is it clear what is being read between the lines of this “informational message”? It’s bad, they say, that the General poisoned Navalny, so he was fired! In other words, “Echo of Moscow”, which is run by the notorious liar Venediktov, directly fabricates, with its own hands, a deliberate fake, again accusing the Russian authorities of involvement in a criminal offense – an attempt to kill a person.
Well, the fabrication of such a “duck” is not just slander. This is a direct complicity in the provocative political campaign organised by western intelligence services against Russia. This is nothing but… treachery, treason to the Motherland! Article 275 of the Criminal Code “State Treason”.
It specifically says that a person who was guilty of “…providing financial, material and technical, consultative or other assistance to a foreign state, international or foreign organisation or their representatives in activities aimed against security of the Russian Federation” shall be punished “by imprisonment for a term of 12 to 20 years with a fine in the amount up to 500,000 rubles or the salary or other income condemned for a period up to 3 years or without such and with restriction of liberty for a term up to 2 years.”
Of course, Mr. Venediktov did not provide “financial and logistical assistance” to the west, but he did provide “other assistance” aimed against the security of the Russian Federation, as is quite obvious. He began to publicly spread deliberately false speculations that undermine the reputation of our country abroad and took part in an information campaign hostile to Russia, which resulted in new sanctions for our country.
You’re a troublemaker, Mr. Venediktov. It’s time now to answer to the full extent of Russian law…
Andrey Sokolov
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