- The Washington Times - Sunday, August 23, 2020

Alexei Navalny, an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was being monitored by Russian police in the days leading up to his suspected poisoning, Russian news outlets reported Sunday.

The 44-year-old anti-corruption advocate was being followed by plainclothes FSB officers before he fell ill while traveling to Siberia, the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper reported.

“The scale of the surveillance does not surprise me at all, we were perfectly aware of it before,” press secretary Kira Yarmysh tweeted.

“What is surprising, however, is that [anonymous security sources] did not shy away from describing it,” she continued.

The security officials told the newspaper that the poisoning was likely carried out in the airport or on the plane. Mr. Navalny fell ill on a flight Thursday after drinking tea that he suspected was poisoned.

• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.

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