The mother of Vladimir Kara-Murza, a British-Russian anti-Putin activist, has been taken to hospital in Berlin after a suspected poisoning.
Elena Gordon was brought to an isolation ward at the Charité hospital in Berlin on Tuesday evening after telling police she believed she had been poisoned, German media reported.
Police said they were investigating on suspicion of attempted murder and that Ms Gordon’s “blood, clothing and apartment” were being checked.
“The police are taking all necessary measures to ensure public security and to investigate potential suspects,” the force said.
Elena Gordon is the mother of Vladimir Kara-Murza, a British-Russian anti-Putin activist – Brendan Smialowski/AFP
Mr Kara-Murza later said that initial tests did not confirm fears his mother was poisoned, but that doctors were continuing their evaluations.
More detailed results of the tests are expected on Wednesday morning, the Bild newspaper reported.
A spokesman for the German police union said that alarm bells “immediately go off when an incident like this occurs, because the Russian despot has proven several times that Moscow’s arm also reaches as far as Berlin and that he doesn’t shy away from eliminating critics”.
Vladimir Kara-Murza is a 43-year-old journalist who was sentenced to 25 years in prison before being released on a prison swap – Rob Gillies/AP
Vladimir Kara-Murza survived two poisoning attempts in 2015 and 2017 – Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP
The 43-year-old journalist was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a Russian court in 2023 on charges of discrediting Moscow’s army.
He was released in a prison swap deal in August and has survived two poisoning attempts in 2015 and 2017.