US Treasury sanctions Russian entities over Navalny poisoning

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The US Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned Russian operatives and entities linked to the poisoning of opposition figure Aleksey Navalny.

The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated nine Russian individuals and two Russian entities involved in the "state-sponsored poisoning" of Navalny or "Russia's chemical weapons program," it said in a statement.

Also, the US Department of State has designated two scientific laboratories under the Russian Ministry of Defense that have engaged in activities to develop Russia's chemical arsenal, it added.

"Today, on the one year anniversary of Aleksey Navalny's poisoning by Russian government agents, we stand with our ally, the United Kingdom, to again condemn the Kremlin's use of a chemical weapon to target one of Russia's most prominent opposition leaders," OFAC Director Andrea Gacki said in the statement.

"Navalny's poisoning was a shocking violation of international norms against the use of chemical weapons and was part of an ongoing campaign to silence voices of dissent in Russia," she added.

Navalny had been poisoned in a nerve agent attack, and was sent to Germany for medical treatment. He was detained by Russian authorities upon his return to the country.​​​​​​​