European allies say Navalny was poisoned by dart frog toxin; Russia rejects claims

FILE PHOTO: Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny appears on a screen via video link from the IK-6 penal colony in the Vladimir region, during a court hearing to consider an appeal against his sentence in the criminal case on numerous charges, including the creation of an extremist organization, in Moscow, Russia September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Yulia Morozova/File Photo

LONDON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Five European allies on ⁠Saturday blamed Russia for killing late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny using toxin from poison dart frogs while he was held in an Arctic ⁠penal colony two years ago, a claim Moscow rejected as propaganda.

In a joint statement, Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands said ‌analyses of samples from Navalny's body "conclusively" confirmed the presence of epibatidine, a toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America and not found naturally in Russia.