Russian Policeman Detained Over Data Leak About Alleged Navalny Poisoners

Police officers detain a man at Moscow's Vnukovo airport where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is expected to arrive on January 17, 2021. (AFP)
Police officers detain a man at Moscow's Vnukovo airport where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is expected to arrive on January 17, 2021. (AFP)
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Russian Policeman Detained Over Data Leak About Alleged Navalny Poisoners

Police officers detain a man at Moscow's Vnukovo airport where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is expected to arrive on January 17, 2021. (AFP)
Police officers detain a man at Moscow's Vnukovo airport where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is expected to arrive on January 17, 2021. (AFP)

Russia has opened a criminal case against a police officer accused of leaking data that could have helped identify the alleged poisoners of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the RBC business daily reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

The officer could face up to 10 years in jail if found guilty of abuse of power. He was detained last month and is currently under house arrest, a court in the city of Samara told RBC.

Authorities accuse the officer of leaking confidential information from a database containing information about people’s travel across the country to a third party, RBC reported, citing a source close to the investigation.

The information leaked, according to RBC, is thought to relate to flights taken by agents from the FSB security service with specialized knowledge on chemical weapons identified in an investigation as having secretly followed Navalny for several years.

Investigative website Bellingcat and Russian media outlet The Insider published the investigation last month in cooperation with Der Spiegel and CNN, Reuters reported.

“Investigators are not looking for or imprisoning Navalny’s poisoners, but those who disclosed their data,” Georgy Alburov, an ally of Navalny, wrote on Twitter.

Navalny was airlifted for medical treatment to Germany after his poisoning in Siberia in August, only to be detained at the airport upon his return to Russia on Sunday and taken into pre-trial detention for 30 days.



Three Killed in Methanol Reservoir Fire in Iran’s South 

19 May 2023, Berlin: The flag of Iran flies in the wind in front of the Iranian embassy on Podbielskiallee. (dpa)
19 May 2023, Berlin: The flag of Iran flies in the wind in front of the Iranian embassy on Podbielskiallee. (dpa)
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Three Killed in Methanol Reservoir Fire in Iran’s South 

19 May 2023, Berlin: The flag of Iran flies in the wind in front of the Iranian embassy on Podbielskiallee. (dpa)
19 May 2023, Berlin: The flag of Iran flies in the wind in front of the Iranian embassy on Podbielskiallee. (dpa)

At least three people have died and ten people were injured when a methanol reservoir caught fire in a port in Iran's southern province of Bushehr, state media IRNA reported on Wednesday.

State TV said a vessel carrying methanol, which was docked at the port of Bandar Dayyer and belongs to the Kaveh Petrochemicals Company, had caught fire for reasons which were not yet known.

"Considering the extent of the fire, it is likely that the number of dead and injured will rise," the head of the province's emergency services said.

In April, a large explosion took place at the Shahid Rajaee port in southern Iran killing 57 people, with some officials blaming poor storage of chemicals in containers.

An official investigation into the incident has yet to be completed.