Pussy Riot member was probing killings
A member of the anti-Kremlin protest group Pussy Riot is believed to have been poisoned while investigating the murder of three Russian journalists.
Pyotr Verzilov, 30, was taken to hospital in Moscow a week ago, unable to see, hear or walk, and then transferred to Germany for treatment.
Yesterday, doctors at the Charite university hospital in Berlin, where he remains in intensive care, said his symptoms, along with high blood pressure, suggested that there was poison in his system.
‘‘It is highly probable that he was poisoned,’’ said Dr Kai-Uwe Eckard, adding that the chances of identifying the substance a week after it was ingested were not high.
Novaya Gazeta , a respected Russian opposition newspaper, said Verzilov had been due to receive the results of an investigation he had organised on the day he fell ill. It was examining the killing of three Russian journalists in the Central African Republic in July.
Orkhan Dzhemal, Alexander Rastorguyev, and Kirill Radchenko were shot dead by men with automatic weapons after being ambushed outside the town of Sibut.
They were making a documentary about mercenaries employed in the country by the Wagner Group, a shadowy Kremlin-linked private military contractor.
Wagner fighters have been involved in the Syrian and Ukraine conflicts and are thought to be financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman known as ‘‘Putin’s cook’’ because of his Kremlin catering contracts. Verzilov was one of four Pussy Riot activists jailed after running on to the pitch at this summer’s World Cup final in Moscow.
His fellow activists, who believe he was targeted by Russian authorities, said he would return to Russia as soon as possible.
‘‘The moment he gets a ticket he will use it,’’ said Nadezhda Tolokonnikova. ‘‘It is a question of honour to stay in Russia.’’
The findings will add to concerns that President Vladimir Putin’s regime is poisoning its opponents following the Novichok attack in Salisbury.
Pyotr Verzilov is a prominent critic of the Russian president and publisher of a news website that is highly critical of the Russian justice system.
‘‘The moment he gets a ticket he will use it. It is a question of honour to stay in Russia.’’ Nadezhda Tolokonnikova
The 30-year-old suddenly became unwell after attending a court hearing in Moscow last week. He suffered seizures on the way to hospital and temporarily lost his sight and hearing, as well as the ability to speak and walk.
Prof Eckardt said that the rapid onset on his symptoms was highly indicative of poisoning. – The Times, Telegraph Group