Decision refusing to open a criminal case into the 2020 poisoning

Tomsk

RULING

on refusal to initiate a criminal case

February 10, 2021

Investigator E.A. Bolshanina, Major of Justice, of the investigative division of the Tomsk Linear Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (hereinafter, the Tomsk Linear Department of the MVD of Russia), having reviewed the crime report registered on August 20, 2020 in the crime report log under No. 679, as well as the verification materials,

FOUND:

On August 20, 2020, at 11:58 a.m., the duty unit of the Tomsk Linear Department of the MVD of Russia received by telephone a report from the acting Tomsk transport prosecutor concerning the dissemination in the mass media of information about the hospitalization in Omsk of A.A. Navalny, a passenger on S7 Airlines flight No. 2614 “Tomsk Moscow>>>,” due to possible poisoning at Tomsk Airport.

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Similar reports concerning the emergency landing of the aircraft at Omsk Airport and the hospitalization of A.A. Navalny were registered on August 20, 2020 with the Omsk Linear Directorate of the MVD of Russia (Nos. 1815, 1816), the Directorate of the MVD of Russia for the city of Omsk (No. 18288), the Department of the MVD of Russia for the Sovetsky District of Tomsk (No. 16980), and the Linear Directorate of the MVD of Russia at Domodedovo Airport (No. 1942). In accordance with Clause 48 of the Instruction on the Procedure for Receiving, Registering, and Resolving Statements and Reports of Crimes, Administrative Offenses, and Incidents in the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, approved by Order of the MVD of Russia No. 736 dated August 29, 2014, these were attached to report No. 679.

Between August 20, 2020 and February 10, 2021, an inquiry was conducted in accordance with criminal procedure law, during which it was established that from August 14, 2020 to August 20, 2020, A.A. Navalny and the persons accompanying him—K.A. Yarmysh, I.B. Pakhomov, M.K. Pevchikh, V.K. Los, G.V. Alburov, and P.A. Zelensky—visited the cities of Novosibirsk and Tomsk on a work trip.

A.A. Navalny arrived in Novosibirsk on August 14, 2020 on flight No. 1460 “Moscow Novosibirsk” and stayed at the <<Hilton>>> hotel at: 7/1 Kamenskaya St., Novosibirsk. In the second half of the day on August 17, 2020, the above-mentioned persons traveled by minibus driven by A.A. Murzintsev to Tomsk, where they stayed at the Xander Hotel, located at: 24A Krylov St., Tomsk.

From August 17 to August 19, 2020, in Tomsk, A.A. Navalny, K.A. Yarmysh, I.B. Pakhomov, M.K. Pevchikh, V.K. Los, G.V. Alburov, and P.A. Zelensky held a number of work meetings and visited local sights and leisure venues. A.A. Navalny was always accompanied by the above-mentioned persons, except while spending time in his hotel room.

As a rule, meals were taken at the restaurant of the Xander Hotel. A.A. Navalny ate little and followed a diet; during the day he mainly consumed

2 mainly water, and in the evening low-alcohol beverages (wine, cocktails). On August 20, 2020, at 6:24 a.m., A.A. Navalny, without having breakfast, left the hotel by taxi together with K.A. Yarmysh and I.B. Pakhomov and arrived at Tomsk International Airport (Bogashevo). After checking in for S7 Airlines flight No. 2614 on the route “Tomsk - Moscow” and passing through security screening, they entered the controlled area of the airport. At the Vienna Coffee House café, A.A. Navalny drank tea, while I.B. Pakhomov and K.A. Yarmysh drank water and coffee respectively. After consuming the drinks, they proceeded to board the aircraft, where they took their seats according to their boarding passes. - Approximately 15 minutes after takeoff, A.A. Navalny began to feel unwell, after which he went to the lavatory. Upon exiting, he lost consciousness and fell in the galley area at the rear of the aircraft. Because he required qualified medical assistance, the plane made an emergency landing at Omsk Airport. From August 20, 2020 to August 22, 2020, A.A. Navalny was in the Omsk Region State Healthcare Institution “City Clinical Emergency Hospital No. 1” (hereinafter, the city clinical hospital), where he received the necessary medical care and was diagnosed with: carbohydrate metabolism disorder (primary); chronic pancreatitis with impaired exocrine and endocrine function, exacerbation (concomitant). On August 22, 2020, A.A. Navalny was transported from the Russian Federation to the Federal Republic of Germany to the Charite clinic at Charitepl. 1, 10117 Berlin, where he underwent treatment. In order to establish all the circumstances of what happened and the cause of A.A. Navalny’s sudden deterioration in health, a set of verification, operational-search, and procedural measures was carried out, during which 262 persons were interviewed, including doctors and medical staff of the city clinical hospital, ambulance personnel, members of the aircraft crew and passengers on the flight, and employees of airport services, cafés, hotels, and restaurants. Ninety-four inspections of scenes and objects were conducted, and 63 forensic examinations were performed on 542 seized items. As a result of the above measures, no objective data were established indicating the commission of intentional criminal acts against A.A. Navalny. This conclusion is supported by the results of medical examinations conducted while A.A. Navalny was in the city clinical hospital and on the basis of which the above diagnosis was made, by forensic expert reports, and by statements from persons with whom he had contact in the period preceding his hospitalization. In particular, during A.A. Navalny’s stay in the city clinical hospital, 8 biochemical blood tests, 11 blood acid-base balance tests, 6 complete blood counts, 5 electrocardiograms, 25 glucose level tests, and 5 urinalyses were performed over time.

3 The final diagnosis was established after 6 medical consultations involving doctors from the N.I. Pirogov National Medical and Surgical Center of the Russian Ministry of Health, the N.N. Burdenko National Medical Research Center for Neurosurgery of the Russian Ministry of Health, and Omsk State Medical University of the Russian Ministry of Health, taking into account repeated chemical-toxicological tests, as a result of which no toxic substances were found in A.A. Navalny’s biological fluids. Doctors of the Omsk Region State Healthcare Institution “City Clinical Emergency Hospital No. 1,” A.V. Sabaev (head of the acute poisoning department) and S.V. Mishchenko (head of the intensive care unit of the acute poisoning department), gave a detailed account of the circumstances of A.A. Navalny’s hospitalization and treatment. According to their statements, A.A. Navalny was brought to the city clinical hospital on August 20, 2020 by an ambulance team in serious condition. In order to establish the correct diagnosis, several medical consultations were held, and the patient’s biological fluids were repeatedly tested, with no narcotic, psychotropic, potent, or toxic substances found. There were also no signs of food poisoning in A.A. Navalny. Taking into account the totality of information obtained from A.A. Navalny’s medical examination, the diagnosis reflected in the medical records was established. During the patient’s stay in the medical institution, the following groups of medications were used: infusion therapy, antibacterial therapy, sedative therapy, insulin therapy, proton pump blockers, anticonvulsant therapy, narcotic analgesics, metabolic therapy, oxygen therapy, antiplatelet therapy, enteral nutrition, and M-anticholinergics (atropine), the dosage and frequency of administration of which were determined with regard to the dynamics of the clinical picture and were described in detail in the inpatient medical chart. A.A. Navalny was administered the medications atropine and a muscle relaxant (to relax muscles). Atropine was used as part of premedication (preparation for tracheal intubation). Before tracheal intubation, 1 mg of atropine was administered; thereafter atropine was administered situationally (depending on the clinical picture). On August 20, 2020 at 9:00 p.m. and on August 21, 2020 at 5:00 a.m., 1 mg of atropine was used as an antispasmodic and antisecretory drug. A chemical-toxicological study was carried out, including testing for substances from the cholinesterase inhibitor group, and the results showed that none of the above substances were present in the body. Clinical, anamnestic, and chemical-toxicological studies did not establish the fact of poisoning. Carbohydrate metabolism disorder is a severe metabolic condition. There may be several causes of carbohydrate metabolism disorder. These include dietary factors, including nutrition and possible alcohol consumption—that is, failure to follow a diet or adherence to certain diets. A.A. Navalny had metabolic disturbances, as confirmed by

- laboratory and biochemical tests. Based on the clinical picture and characteristic biochemical changes (hyperglycemia, acetonuria, a significant increase in serum amylase levels, leukocytosis, lactic acidemia), the main syndromes of metabolic changes were formulated collectively. The exclusion of chemical injury to the body is based on the absence of a toxicological situation involving contact with a poisonous substance. The following were absent: a clinical picture of chemical injury; syndromes of toxic damage to the organs responsible for elimination (liver, kidneys, lungs); and chemical-toxicological confirmation of the presence of poisons and their metabolites in biological fluids (blood, urine). A specific feature of the pathological process in A.A. Navalny was pronounced pancreatic dysfunction (exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis). At the initiative of A.A. Navalny’s relatives, a decision was made to transport him to the Charite clinic (Federal Republic of Germany, Berlin). The team of medical workers from an international air ambulance company that arrived on August 22, 2020 did not take any test results or copies of documents from the medical history with them, and they did not review the patient’s medical chart. The above circumstances were confirmed by A.A. Kalinichenko, deputy chief physician for medical affairs of the city clinical hospital; B.A. Teplykh, head of the anesthesiology and intensive care department (senior anesthesiologist-resuscitator) of the Institute for Advanced Medical Training of the N.I. Pirogov National Medical and Surgical Center; hospital medical staff (Yu.S. Stogul, A.A. Smirnova, A.I. Abramenkova, G.V. Molodaya, and Yu.A. Mayer); and medical documents (the patient’s medical chart and test results). Within the framework of the inquiry, it was objectively and reliably established that atropine was not used as an antidote in providing medical care to A.A. Navalny and was not administered by medical personnel at the pre-hospital stage. As an antidote, atropine is used exclusively in doses from 24 mg to 150 mg; A.A. Navalny was not administered such quantities (he received 1 mg doses). The statements of the medical specialists are consistent with the conclusions of the forensic examinations, according to which no toxic (narcotic, potent) substances were found in/on the objects submitted for examination. The forensic medical examination dated August 24, 2020, No. 2175, established that no potent medicinal substances or narcotic substances, including synthetic ones, were found in samples of A.A. Navalny’s biological fluids. According to the forensic medical examination report dated August 24, 2020, No. 2205, conducted by the Omsk Region State Healthcare Institution “Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination,” no potent medicinal substances, narcotic substances, including synthetic ones, ethanol, or its surrogates were found in the blood and urine. According to the commission forensic medical examination report dated October 14, 2020, No. 156-k, conducted by the Novosibirsk Regional Clinical

5 Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination, the diagnosis of poisoning in A.A. Navalny is not confirmed by the medical records. According to the report of the Expert Forensic Center of the Directorate of the MVD of Russia for Omsk Region dated August 21, 2020, No. 1795, no narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors, potent substances, or poisonous substances were found on the surface of the cotton swab with washings from A.A. Navalny’s palms and in clippings from his fingernails, obtained during his hospitalization. The analytical section of this report states that the chromatogram of the extract from the cotton-swab washings showed a peak matching the library mass spectrum of the substance 2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate. At the same time, according to explanations provided by E.M. Efremenko, head of the biochemistry department at Omsk State Medical University, and V.N. Silnikov, head of the organic synthesis laboratory at the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate is a low-toxicity compound used as a plasticizer in the production of plastics, in chemical reagents, and in aircraft hydraulic systems. Because of its non-toxicity, this substance is permitted for use in the production of plastics that come into contact with food products. Given the small amount of the substance found on A.A. Navalny’s palm, it could not have been the cause of poisoning of the body. During the procedural inquiry, the clothing A.A. Navalny was wearing when he was admitted to the medical institution in Omsk was seized and examined. A physical-chemical forensic examination was conducted on all seized items (dated September 4, 2020, No. 2/281), according to which no traces of narcotic drugs and their derivatives, psychotropic substances, potent substances, or poisonous substances were found on the items. The persons accompanying A.A. Navalny—G.V. Alburov, I.B. Pakhomov, K.A. Yarmysh, V.K. Los, K.V. Fadeeva, A.L. Fateev, and P.A. Zelensky—confirmed that A.A. Navalny was in Novosibirsk and Tomsk from August 14, 2020 to August 20, 2020. They explained that they stayed in 7 single rooms at the Xander Hotel until checkout. During his stay in Tomsk, A.A. Navalny felt well, did not complain about his health, and was constantly accompanied by the said persons. On August 19, 2020, at about 10:00 a.m., I.B. Pakhomov, K.A. Yarmysh, M.K. Pevchikh, P.A. Zelensky, and A.A. Navalny left the hotel and returned in the evening; during the day he ate almost nothing and drank only water, which he bought in city stores. At about 6:30 p.m., they ordered food from the Panda delivery service, which they all ate. At about 11:00 p.m. on August 19, 2020, their group returned to the hotel and gathered in the hotel restaurant, where A.A. Navalny ordered an alcoholic cocktail, took a couple of sips, and went to his room. At about 6:00 a.m. on August 20, 2020, K.A. Yarmysh, I.B. Pakhomov, and A.A. Navalny met at the hotel reception and headed to the airport. A.A. Navalny did not eat breakfast, and at the hotel and

did not consume any drinks on the way to the airport. Upon arrival at the airport, they passed through security screening and proceeded to the sterile area. Since there were 30 to 40 minutes left before boarding, they ordered black tea, coffee, and water at the Vienna Coffee House café. About 10 minutes later, a female café employee brought a sealed tea bag, a paper cup with hot water, a cup of coffee, a sealed bottle of water in factory packaging, and an empty paper cup. A.A. Navalny drank the tea, while I.B. Pakhomov and K.A. Yarmysh drank the water and coffee respectively. After consuming the drinks, they proceeded to board flight No. 2614 “Tomsk - Moscow”; on the plane they took their seats according to their boarding passes, and A.A. Navalny felt well and did not complain about his health. Some time after takeoff, A.A. Navalny became ill and went to the lavatory; then an announcement was made over the loudspeaker requesting a doctor from among the passengers. At that time, A.A. Navalny was lying on the floor in the rear part of the plane, and his breathing was irregular. Subsequently, the aircraft commander announced a forced landing at Omsk Airport, where medical personnel arrived upon landing. After first aid was provided on the plane, A.A. Navalny was hospitalized.

Through the set of measures carried out, the chronology of A.A. Navalny’s stay in Tomsk was reconstructed, including the places where he stayed and visited. These included the Xander Hotel with the Velvet restaurant; a rented apartment where a work meeting took place; stores where food products were purchased; and the Vienna Coffee House café at Tomsk Airport. According to the information obtained, it was in these places that A.A. Navalny ate food and consumed drinks, including alcoholic beverages.

During procedural actions at the above locations, about 500 items with which he could have come into contact were seized (food products, tableware, beverage containers, clothing, various household items, and swabs from various surfaces). Physical-chemical forensic examinations conducted on the items submitted for analysis revealed no psychotropic, potent, or poisonous substances.

Employees of the Velvet restaurant who were interviewed, O.A. Yasentseva (waitress) and D.S. Bastrygin (bartender), explained that on August 19, 2020, at about 11:00 p.m., a group of 5 people entered the restaurant, including A.A. Navalny, who ordered a low-alcohol cocktail for himself, which was prepared in full compliance with sanitary regulations. About 20 minutes later, he left, having drunk only about half the glass. All their alcohol comes from suppliers with whom they have worked for a long time; there have been no complaints about quality, and all alcoholic products have certificates and excise stamps.

Employees of Vienna Coffee House LLC who were interviewed—P.S. Filonenko, V.I. Balastova, T.N. Gridneva, S.A. Pyatkova, and K.A. Temnikov—explained that the café is located on the second floor of Tomsk Airport, that sanitary standards were always observed in the retail sale of food products, and that the café had no substances capable of causing poisoning.

7 The investigative body seized, examined, and analyzed video recordings along the route of movement of A.A. Navalny and the persons accompanying him during the period from August 17, 2020 to August 22, 2020, and these recordings contain no circumstances indicating unlawful acts committed against A.A. Navalny. When interviewed by the competent authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany in execution of a legal assistance request, A.A. Navalny stated that in August 2020 he made a business trip to the cities of Novosibirsk and Tomsk. During the trip, he consumed the same food and drinks as members of his team. He did not suffer from any illnesses. Of alcoholic beverages, he consumed only two sips of a Negroni cocktail on the evening of August 19, 2020 in the restaurant of the Xander Hotel, after which he drank water from plastic bottles in the hotel room. He claims that he was poisoned by FSB officers with a nerve agent. At the same time, A.A. Navalny refers to information received by his attending physicians at the Charite hospital, as well as to three independent toxicological studies by laboratories located in Germany, France, and Sweden. During the trip, he was accompanied only by his acquaintances and did not come into contact with third parties. Thus, A.A. Navalny’s version of poisoning contradicts the above explanations of medical specialists, whose conclusions are confirmed by medical documents, examinations, and forensic expert reports. The statements of Yu.B. Navalnaya also do not accord with the information obtained during the inquiry regarding her husband’s state of health. In particular, during the taking of medical history from Yu.B. Navalnaya, medical workers learned that A.A. Navalny restricted his food intake, had experienced discomfort after eating for 3 to 5 days before hospitalization, ate irregularly, and that irrational consumption of food and alcohol could not be ruled out. Subsequently, when questioned by the Senior Lead Prosecutor of Berlin, Yu.B. Navalnaya gave opposite testimony, stating that A.A. Navalny had no health problems whatsoever. In particular, she stated that during the trip he did not complain about his health. He had no dietary restrictions and did not take medications or dietary supplements. This may indicate an attempt to mislead the authorities conducting the inquiry. According to a letter submitted by the head of Division II of the German Federal Office of Justice (Bonn, January 15, 2021, case No. 1 1-9352 E-R2-D7 1190/2020) to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation in response to legal assistance requests dated August 27, 2020, September 14, 2020, September 24, 2020, and September 28, 2020, the Federal Government can confirm that the Bundeswehr Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology conducted a toxicological examination of items described as three water bottles and transferred to the laboratory by the <<Charite>>> clinic (Berlin). Traces of the nerve agent “Novichok” were found on two of the water bottles. More detailed information was refused. Requests to question A.A. Navalny’s attending physicians were not

8 satisfied, copies of his medical history and the conclusions obtained were not provided, as A.A. Navalny objected to their disclosure. Given that the competent authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany did not provide the conclusions of the examinations of the said items (bottles), did not provide information about the experts, and refused to provide A.A. Navalny’s medical documents, medical history, copies of forensic medical examinations, toxicological and other laboratory studies, the conclusions of the head of Division III of the German Federal Office of Justice have no documentary support and cannot obtain such support in the course of the present inquiry. In view of A.A. Navalny’s refusal to allow Germany to provide data about his health, and that state’s refusal to satisfy the Russian Federation’s legal assistance requests, the legal possibility of obtaining the said documents and information in the manner provided by criminal procedure law has been exhausted. The absence of any transfer of the documents referred to by the head of Division III of the German Federal Office of Justice in the above-mentioned letter (Bonn, January 15, 2021, case No. III 1-9352 E-R2-D7 1190/2020) constitutes an insurmountable obstacle to the use of such documents for establishing the circumstances connected with A.A. Navalny’s hospitalization. At the same time, the data obtained during the criminal-procedural inquiry indicate a pre-planned staging by persons from A.A. Navalny’s circle of a number of events connected with his hospitalization, for the purpose of preparing a provocation for political ends. In particular, on August 20, 2020, when mass media already contained information about the possible poisoning of A.A. Navalny at Tomsk Airport, a group including M.K. Pevchikh, V.K. Los, G.V. Alburov, and A.V. Timofeev carried out a demonstrative action by entering a room at the Xander Hotel, from which several water bottles were removed without the consent of hotel staff, as confirmed by statements from hotel employees (T.O. Litvinova and O.S. Zlatkus). No such actions were carried out at other organizations or food service locations visited by A.A. Navalny. The said items were not handed over to the law enforcement authorities of the Russian Federation, and none of the participants in the entry could state their subsequent whereabouts. According to public statements by M.K. Pevchikh, she personally delivered the water bottles to the Charite clinic (Berlin). At the same time, it was reliably established that during pre-flight screening at Novosibirsk Airport (on the day of A.A. Navalny’s hospitalization), only one such container was carried in her hand luggage. M.K. Pevchikh avoided participating in procedural actions within the framework of the inquiry; the Federal Republic of Germany refused a legal assistance request to question her on the grounds that there was no information about her whereabouts. However, according to information published in the media, M.K. Pevchikh is in Germany (interviews and photographs geolocated to specific places in Berlin).

The emergency landing of the aircraft carrying A.A. Navalny was preceded by an anonymous false bomb threat concerning Omsk Airport, sent via an email service whose server is located in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany. In executing the legal assistance request, the Federal Republic of Germany did not establish the circumstances of the sending of the message or the persons involved.

During questioning, Yu.B. Navalnaya and A.A. Navalny concealed signs of the development of his illness that had preceded the incident, whereas such illness was established by highly qualified medical specialists and by forensic examinations.

Thus, based on the results of the procedural inquiry, no sufficient data were established indicating either the presence of elements of the offense предусмотренного ч. 1 ст. 111 УК РФ or the infliction of any other harm on A.A. Navalny.

In view of the foregoing, and guided by Clause 1, Part 1, Article 24, and Articles 144, 145, and 148 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation,

RULED:

1. To refuse to initiate a criminal case regarding the hospitalization in Omsk of A.A. Navalny, a passenger on S7 Airlines flight No. 2614 “Tomsk Moscow>>>,” on the ground provided for by Clause 1, Part 1, Article 24 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, due to the absence of the event of a crime under Part 1, Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

2. The documents and items (objects) seized during the procedural actions shall be retained with the inquiry materials.

3. A copy of this ruling shall be sent to the Tomsk Transport Prosecutor.

4. Interested persons shall be notified of the decision taken and informed of their right and the procedure to appeal it.

Investigator of the investigative division of the Tomsk Linear Department of the MVD of Russia Major of Justice E.A. Bolshanina