Medics in Omsk tested Alexei Navalny for cholinesterase inhibitors first thing when he arrived at the hospital, Head Siberian Toxicologist Alexander Sabaev said on Friday.
"In the first hours after the patient's arrival, a maximum extended study was carried out on the spectrum of toxic agents... His sample were examined for cholinesterase inhibitors and organophosphorus compounds in the first place, and only after that for alcohol, drugs, and other compounds", he noted.
Sabaev stated that Navalny's condition might have been caused by stress, diet, alcohol, or even long exposure to the Sun. The expert stressed that Navalny's kidneys and liver were not damaged, which means there were no toxic agents in his body.
Navalny Case: What Happened?
The Russian opposition figure fell ill during a flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow on 20 August. Following an emergency landing in Omsk, he was taken to a local hospital, according to a letter by doctors, just 17 minutes after landing.
Several days later Navalny was flown to the Charite clinic in Berlin. German doctors claimed they found traces of a substance from the group of cholinesterase inhibitors in his body, which Russian doctors denied, citing the patient's test results. They said that no traces of poison had been found and suggested that his condition was caused by an abrupt drop of glucose in his blood due to a metabolic imbalance.
Shortly after Navalny fell ill, his spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, claimed that he could have consumed a poisonous substance that had been mixed into his tea. However, CCTV footage has been shared online from the airport showing Navalny being handed a cup by his aide Ilya Pakhomov. It has therefore been suggested that whoever prepared the beverage could not have known for whom it was intended.
Addressing the case, Berlin claimed that Navalny was "poisoned" with a nerve agent from the Novichok group.
