"Scent of Rotten Fruit in Sweat"... Russian Journalist Criticizing War Suspected of Poison Attack

Complaints of Addiction Symptoms on German Train
Investigative Authorities Resume Investigation Since Last Month

A Russian dissident journalist who wrote articles criticizing Russia's invasion of Ukraine is suspected to have been poisoned in Germany last year. German investigative authorities are currently looking into the case.

According to the British daily The Guardian on the 17th (local time), Yelena Kostyuchenko, who worked as a reporter for the Russian independent media outlet Novaya Gazeta, experienced sudden symptoms of poisoning such as severe headache, difficulty breathing, and nausea on a train in Germany on October 17 last year.

At the time, she was visiting Germany due to visa issues. Having worked for Russian dissident media outlets highlighting the horrors of war, she needed a Ukrainian visa to work for Meduza, a Russian independent media outlet headquartered in Riga, Latvia.

Reporter Yelena Kostyuchenko working at an independent Russian media outlet
[Image source=Instagram]

However, after finishing her work and boarding the train back to Berlin, she began to show symptoms of poisoning, with swelling in parts of her body including her face, fingers, and toes.

Regarding the situation, Kostyuchenko told Meduza and the American media outlet n+1 on the 15th, "There was a strong and strange smell like rotten fruit coming from my sweat."

Ten days after the first symptoms appeared, hospital tests showed her liver enzyme levels were five times higher than normal, and blood was detected in her urine.

German authorities initially launched an investigation into the suspicion but closed it in May due to lack of evidence. However, it was reported that the investigation was reopened two months later. The Berlin prosecutor's office is conducting an investigation against an unidentified perpetrator.

Meanwhile, Kostyuchenko is a journalist who has covered human rights abuses by the Russian government and Russian military. In 2011, she reported on the "Zhanaozen massacre," where at least 14 protesters were killed by police in the western Kazakh oil-producing region, earning several awards for her coverage.

The non-profit organization Committee to Protect Journalists, headquartered in New York, has requested German authorities to conduct a transparent investigation into the assassination attempt allegations against Kostyuchenko.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.