‘Tea laced with poison’ claim as politician fights for life

Poisoning is becoming a favorite tool of the people who are going after political opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime, said Vladimir Kara-Murza, an opposition politician and vice-president of the Free Russia Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit.

His remarks came as Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was fighting for his life in a Siberian hospital after drinking tea that allies said they believe was laced with poison.

According to Reuters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any poisoning would need to be confirmed by laboratory tests and that doctors were doing everything they could to help Navalny. He wished him a speedy recovery.

Kara-Murza told Reuters although poison has been a weapon of choice for the Russian government for many years, the number of incidents has increased dramatically under Putin.

The Kremlin has denied settling scores with its foes by murdering them, Reuters added.