GENEVA, October 9. /TASS/. UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard and her counterpart for freedom of expression and opinion, Irene Khan intend to thoroughly study the data on the alleged attempted poisoning of Russian blogger Alexey Navalny. They do not intend to make statements until this analysis is complete, the officials said in response to the TASS inquiry.
The special rapporteurs confirmed "they have received information regarding the attempted poisoning of Mr. Alexey Navalny."
"In keeping with established procedures, these allegations will be examined closely and thoroughly assessed," the special rapporteurs said. "The special rapporteurs will reserve opinions on the substance of the allegations for a time when the analysis is completed and when the matters have been raised with the concerned State, as per the working methods of Special Procedures."
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights explained that the special rapporteurs "are mandated to investigate incidents of human rights violations." They report back to the Human Rights Council and draw its attention, as well as that of the General Assembly and other United Nations mechanisms and bodies, to serious violations that warrant immediate attention, the Office said. The special rapporteurs regularly receive information on specific allegations of human rights violations and abuses and may send communications to States, and occasionally to non-State actors, asking for clarification and action.
"Communications sent and the responses received are reported at each regular session to the Human Rights Council," the Office said.
The Special Procedures experts "work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work," the Office said, adding that they "are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity."
On October 7, Der Spiegel reported that UN Special Rapporteurs Khan and Callamard will investigate the Navalny case. According to the report, the duo visited Berlin on the blogger’s request, which he relayed via French attorney Willam Bourdon. Callamard reportedly vowed to "thoroughly analyze and check the allegations," put forth by the blogger.
Navalny case
Navalny was rushed to a local hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk on August 20 after collapsing on a Moscow-bound flight from Tomsk. He fell into a coma and was put on a ventilator in an intensive care unit. On August 22, he was airlifted to Berlin and admitted to the Charite hospital.
On September 2, Berlin claimed that having examined Navalny’s test samples, German government toxicologists had come to the conclusion that the blogger had been affected by a toxic agent belonging to the Novichok family.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was ready for comprehensive cooperation with Germany. He pointed out that no poisonous substances had been detected in Navalny’s system prior to his transfer to Berlin. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the German Foreign Office had not provided the Russian ambassador with any proof of its version of the incident.