Two individuals suspected of assaulting Leonid Volkov, a close associate of the late Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, have been detained in Poland. The attack occurred outside Volkov’s residence in Vilnius, Lithuania on Mar. 12 of this year, and was carried out using a hammer and pepper spray. News of the suspects’ arrest was announced by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda at a press conference.
“Two people have been detained in Poland on suspicion of beating Russian opposition leader Leonid Volkov. I thank the Republic of Poland for the excellent work it has done. I have discussed this with the Polish president and thanked them for their excellent cooperation,” Nauseda said.
Volkov himself commented on the arrest of the suspects:
“I don't know any details yet, but here is what I can say: I have seen the vigorous, persistent work of the Lithuanian police on this case over the past month, and I am very pleased that this effort has been productive.”
On the day of the attack, Yulia Navalnaya's press secretary Kira Yarmysh described the incident as follows: “The attacker smashed the window of his car, sprayed tear gas in his eyes, and began hitting Leonid with a hammer. Leonid is at home now. The police and ambulance are on their way,”
At that time, the Lithuanian president also commented on the attack, saying it could have been carried out “under the Kremlin’s influence”:
“It is clear that such things are being planned, and we should not be surprised. But I want to make it very clear that the services will investigate and, I hope, find the guilty parties. And I can only say one thing to Putin — nobody is afraid of you here.”
The investigation into the attack on Volkov is being handled by the Lithuanian police's anti-terrorism unit Aras.
UPD
As Delfi reports, the two arrested individuals turned out to be Polish nationals. They have been kept in custody since their detention on Apr. 3 in Warsaw.
“The detention went smoothly thanks to the fruitful cooperation with the Prosecutor’s Office and the Central Bureau of Investigations of Poland,” said Justas Laucius, Senior Prosecutor of the Vilnius District Prosecutor’s Office.
According to Laucius, at this point, the investigators possess evidence confirming that the opposition politician was targeted for his political activity, not for other reasons.