Alexei Navalny fell seriously ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow in August 2020. (FILE)
Moscow:
The chief doctor of a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk who briefly treated Alexei Navalny, a poisoned Kremlin critic, has been promoted to head of the regional health ministry, local authorities said on Saturday.
In August, Navalny, 44, fell seriously ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow and was hospitalized in Omsk after an emergency landing.
The anti-transplant activist was eventually transferred for treatment to Germany where experts ruled he had been poisoned with the Soviet-designed nerve agent Novichok.
Alexander Murakhovsky, the chief medical officer of the Omsk No.1 Emergency Hospital, was among the medics who claimed that no trace of poison was found in Navalny’s system and blocked his transport to Berlin.
A statement posted on the website of the Omsk regional government said that Murakhovsky “has completed all professional steps, because a doctor and a leader knows and understands all the processes that take place in the field of health care.”
He said his candidacy “has been confirmed by the leadership of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. Alexander Murakhovsky has been appointed to the post of Ministry of Health of the region”.
In a Twitter post, Navalny mocked Murakhovsky’s appointment:
“You lie, fake test results, are ready to please the bosses in any way – you get a prize and a promotion.”
He added that now health care in the region is in the hands of a “nobody lying”.
On Friday, the Siberian branch of the Interior Ministry said doctors in Omsk had confirmed Navalny’s disease was caused by metabolic problems and pancreatitis, ruling out poisoning.
Navalny claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin was personally responsible for the poisoning.
The Kremlin has dismissed any allegations it may have been involved and accused Germany of not cooperating in the investigation into the incident.
In October, the EU sanctioned several senior Russian officials for the poisoning, claiming that the attack with Novichok could not have been carried out without the complicity of FSB security services, the Ministry of Defense and the office of Putin.
Navalny, who is staying in Germany for treatment, has vowed to return to Russia after fully recovering.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
