Journalist of Ekho Moskvy Irina Babloyan Suspects She Was Poisoned in Tbilisi

As The Insider writes, over the last year, a new wave of poisonings has affected journalists and activists who defected Russia. In particular, Elena Kostyuchenko, a journalist for Novaya Gazeta and Medusa was poisoned in Munich in October, in the same period, Irina Babloyan experienced similar symptoms in Tbilisi, and Natalia Arno, the head of the Free Russia Foundation, was poisoned with a neurotoxic substance in the spring. The Insider writes that they studied the circumstances of the poisoning in detail together with doctors and experts in poisonous substances.

Irina Babloyan arrived in Tbilisi from Moscow in October 2022 and resided in the King Tamar Hotel. According to the journalist investigation, on the night of October 25, she fell ill, and in the morning, she woke up with severe weakness and dizziness. On the evening of October 26, Irina developed a hand-foot syndrome - her palms turned red and burned “as if her hands were on fire.” The same was observed on the feet. Despite these strange first symptoms, the journalist decided not to cancel her trip to Yerevan and departed by car on the night of October 27. In the car, she became very ill, felt extreme dizziness, and could not concentrate.

“You lay down, but the feeling of fatigue does not go away, as if you just cannot rest. I had the feeling that my body no longer belonged to me, it turned into cotton, and I was hit with strong anxiety,” The Insider quotes the journalist's recount.

In Yerevan, Irina stopped at a hotel, but she could not sleep. She felt a strong pain in her abdomen, above her stomach, she began to vomit, after which she had a metallic taste in her mouth. The Insider writes that all these symptoms, except the last one, are very similar to the symptoms described by Elena Kostyuchenko, with the difference that sudden redness appeared and disappeared on Irina's skin, which in the first weeks looked more like red spots, and then - hives. Irina's weakness, pain, and insomnia disappeared after about two days, and the redness still appears to this day.

Irina did not turn to a toxicologist immediately after the poisoning, because she could not even think that someone would want to poison her. She only tested for allergies - the result of all known allergens was negative. A few months after moving to Berlin, Irina decided to take a blood toxicology test anyway, but she did not get the results - she was told that her blood samples were lost at the Berlin University Medical Clinic in Charité. Instead of results, law enforcement officers came to Irina and questioned her about the circumstances of the case. Recently, Irina again underwent a toxicological study, however, due to the passage of time, it is practically impossible to find traces of toxins.

“Unlike in that of Elena Kostyuchenko, in the case of Irina Babloyan, it is more difficult to draw conclusions about poisoning, as the results of medical tests are very scarce. And yet, according to experts interviewed by The Insider, the clinical picture described by Irina cannot be convincingly explained by the presence of any known diseases. Therefore, the version of exogenous poisoning is more likely for them. The similarities with the symptoms described by Elena Kostyuchenko suggest that the same or similar poisoning agent may have been used, but it is difficult to say which one,” The Insider wrote.

The publication notes that, as a rule, investigative materials are not published until the culprits are revealed, however, in this case, after interviewing the victims, the editors decided to make the available information public in order to warn journalists and activists who have fled Russia about the dangers. The Insider writes that those who emigrated from Russia for political reasons no longer take proper security precaution abroad and become easy targets for Russian special services. They may not understand that they have been poisoned for a long time.