EU sanctions Russian researchers involved in Navalny's death

EU sanctions Russian researchers involved in Navalny's death July 3, 2026The Council of the European Union imposed sanctions on six scientists involved in Russia's chemical weapons program on Friday, claiming a connection between the researchers' work and the death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny in 2024. The list names individuals involved in the development of epibatidine, a deadly toxin that was identified in Navalny's body. "Epibatidine is a toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America. It is not found naturally in Russia," the joint statement of the European countries read. 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 that Navalny died of natural causes. In February of this year, however, the governments of five European countries, including Germany, concluded that Navalny had been poisoned by a lethal toxin. Sanctioned scientists 'within the military sphere' Navalny was poisoned once before, in 2020, an attack which put him in a coma and nearly killed him. After he was transported to Germany for treatment, a military lab confirmed he was poisoned by a Novichok nerve agent, with European officials placing the blame on Russian authorities. On Friday, the EU said its sanctions against Russian scientists are rooted in Moscow's violations of Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), an international treaty banning the use of such weapons. The sanctioned individuals were "scientists and researchers within the military sphere," the Council of the European Union said. The six scientists will be banned from traveling to the EU and their assets will be frozen. EU companies and citizens are prohibited from economic ties with them. The latest round of sanctions is only the latest in the long series of Brussels' punitive measures against various Russian officials due to them brutally silencing Kremlin critics and stifling dissenting voices in the media, with the Russian crackdown only growing more fierce since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Edited by: Darko Janjevic