Putin Critic Was Poisoned, Wife Says

The wife of a prominent Kremlin critic says he was critically poisoned by an unknown substance. Vladimir Kara-Murza, Jr., one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s best-known critics, became critcally ill and was placed on life support last week, mirroring a similar episode in 2015. Doctors diagnozed Kara-Murza with “acute poisoning by an undetermined substance,” his wife told RFE/RL. His blood, hair, and fingernails are reportedly being sent to a laboratory in Israel for a second opinion. “We want to get some samples tested again to try to determine what this ‘unidentified’ substance may be,” his wife said.

Kara-Murza, 35, is currently comatose in a Moscow hospital, were his organs have failed. He experienced a similar sudden illness in 2015, and has stated that he believes he was poisoned during the 2015 incident. Both times, he was visiting Moscow when he suddenly became sick. A part-time U.S. resident, Kara-Murza works for the group Open Russia, where he has called on the U.S. to impose sanctions against Russian politicians. Putin has been accused of authorizing the deaths of other critics, including political rivals and journalists. Read more at RFE/RL.