Letter to the Hon. Donald J. Trump, President of the United States - Engel & McCaul Call for Investigation on Russia for Chemical Weapons Attack Against Alexey Navalny

Letter

Dear Mr. President:

We are deeply concerned by reports that leading Russian political activist Alexey Navalny was poisoned on August 20, 2020, by a Novichok chemical nerve agent and formally request that the executive branch investigate whether Russia has used chemical weapons in violation of international law or has used lethal chemical weapons against its own nationals. Pursuant to Section 306 of the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (22 USC 5604) ("the CBW Act"), this request triggers a required 60-day evaluation period, and then, if a determination is made that chemical weapons were used, a sanctions process is laid out under the Act.

As you know, Mr. Navalny is suspected of being poisoned at an airport café in the Russian city of Tomsk. After initially receiving medical care at the Omsk Emergency Hospital, he was transported from Russia to the Charité hospital in Berlin for treatment. Doctors at the Charité hospital announced their finding that Mr. Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok agent on September 2, 2020. We thank Chancellor Angela Merkel and our German allies for opening their doors to Mr. Navalny and his family so that he may be treated in Germany.

The poisoning of Mr. Navalny is particularly disturbing given that a Novichok agent was also used in a March 2018 attack on former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, England. In that instance, you determined that the Russian government was behind the attack in contravention of international law which in turn triggered sanctions against Russia under the CBW Act. If the Russian government is once again determined to have used a chemical weapon against one of its own nationals, additional sanctions should be imposed.

Finally, we urge you to continue to act in concert with our allies and partners to demand Russia cooperate fully with a thorough international investigation to be led by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons into Mr. Navalny's poisoning. Those responsible for this despicable attack must be held accountable, and Russian President Vladimir Putin must know that he and his cronies will not be allowed to violate international law with impunity.

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