By Bond Robertson 
German authorities are now investigating the possible poisoning of Russian journalist Elena Kostyuchenko, who has written a number of articles critical of Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine.
In an article published in the Russian Independent Medusa On Tuesday, Kostyuchenko claimed she received a tip-off in March about Russian plans to kill her.
“I have put off writing this script for a long time. Doing so still feels disturbing, terrifying and shameful,” she began.
Kostyuchenko, who was in Ukraine at the time working as a reporter for the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, was told by its editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov that she could not return to Russia.
– I know you want to go home. But you can’t go back to Russia. It is said that they will kill you.
Kostyuchenko managed to escape to Berlin after receiving the tip.
Nobel Prize winner: Dmitry Muratov is editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta. Pictured is Muradov when he receives the Nobel Peace Prize at Oslo City Hall in 2021. Photo: undefined/NTB
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More symptoms
On October 17, she traveled to Munich to apply for a Ukrainian visa to cover the Russian invasion of Medusa, based in Riga, Latvia.
However, on the train on the way back to Berlin, she must have shown symptoms of poisoning.
“My stomach hurts more and more. Even touching my skin hurts. I hardly slept that night or the nights that followed. As soon as I fell asleep, the pain immediately woke me up. When I tried to sit or stand, my head was spinning.” Kostyuchenko.
Medical examinations conducted ten days after the onset of the first symptoms showed liver enzymes five times higher than normal, in addition to the presence of blood in the urine. It is currently unknown if Russian actors are behind this.
The investigation was first closed in May due to a lack of evidence, but reopened again in July.
– I can confirm that the Berlin Public Prosecutor is investigating an unknown perpetrator, says a spokesperson, according to Watchman.
Kostyuchenko has won several awards for his coverage of the 2011 Zhanaozen massacre, in which at least 14 protesters were killed by police in the oil town.
Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, a law was passed banning “false information” about the Russian military. The law was used to stop all criticism of the war.
I’m not the only one
However, Kostyuchenko is not the only Russian journalist allegedly poisoned in the past year.
Irina Pablojan, 36, and Natalia Arno, 47, are also said to have suffered “inexplicable health problems” in the aftermath of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, according to an investigation by the independent Russian online newspaper. Insider.
Bablojan works at Ekho Russian Radio. In October last year, she moved from Moscow to Georgia, where she lived for a while at the King Tamar Hotel. One evening at the end of October, I suddenly felt ill. During the night and the days that followed, her condition worsened: she developed a rash, became dizzy, had difficulty concentrating, and felt nausea, numbness, and pain in several places on her body.
– I no longer felt like my body was mine. I suffered from severe anxiety, she says of the accident.
The pain persisted for several months. Bablogan underwent several allergy tests, but did not seek further medical attention. So it hasn’t been proven that she ingested a poison, but according to the experts The Insider spoke to, the symptoms are consistent with poisoning.
Poisoning accused: Natalia Arnault, head of the Free Russia Foundation, may have been poisoned. Photo: Free Russia Foundation
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Arnault — who heads the Free Russia Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in the United States — became acutely ill after attending a private event in Prague in May.
When she returned to the hotel at 19.30, she noticed that the door to her hotel room was open. Nothing was missing, but it smelled different than when I left the room a few hours later. In the middle of the night I woke up in severe pain. It started in the teeth, but later spread to the chest, armpits, and spine. Her arms and legs became numb, and her eyesight also deteriorated.
Doctors think it’s possible she was poisoned — possibly by a nerve agent, according to The Insider.
The three journalists’ stories provoke strong reactions.
– It is very worrying and should be investigated immediately. The authorities should take these allegations seriously, he says CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Sernaafter disclosure.
Critics poisoned
One of Putin’s most famous critics is Russian blogger Alexei Navalny. He has run an anti-corruption campaign, and has been referred to as a threat to the Kremlin. The Russian authorities described him as an “extremist”.
In 2020, Navalny was attacked with a nerve agent. Apparently, this happened when he was drinking a cup of tea at Omsk airport in Siberia while waiting for his flight to Moscow. On the plane, Navalny became seriously ill, so the plane turned around, and Navalny was taken to the hospital in Omsk. There he received life-saving treatment, before being sent back and forth to Germany.
After the poisoning, he was treated in a hospital in Berlin and German doctors found traces of Novichok, a group of nerve agents, in Navalny.
In January 2021, Navalny returned to Russia. He was then arrested for breaching his duty to report not to stay in Russia when he needed treatment. Navalny was convicted of a number of allegations of extremism.