Berlin police investigate report of Russian exiles falling ill

The probe is being conducted by a police unit that handles politically motivated crimes.The Russian media outlet Agentstvo reported that two participants in an April 29-30 conference organised by Russian opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky experienced health problems around the time of or after the event.Natalia Arno, head of the U.S.-based Free Russia Foundation, said in a May 16 Facebook post that she woke up with acute pain and strange symptoms during a trip to two European cities before she returned to the United States.

German police are investigating reports that at least two Russian exiles fell ill around the time they attended a conference in Berlin last month linked to a Russian opposition figure.

Berlin police confirmed their investigation in an email responding to a query by The Associated Press, but wouldn't give any details. The probe is being conducted by a police unit that handles politically motivated crimes.

The Russian media outlet Agentstvo reported that two participants in an April 29-30 conference organised by Russian opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky experienced health problems around the time of or after the event.

Natalia Arno, head of the U.S.-based Free Russia Foundation, said in a May 16 Facebook post that she woke up with acute pain and strange symptoms during a trip to two European cities before she returned to the United States. There is some suspicion that she was poisoned, possibly by a nerve agent, Arno said in the post.

In a second case, Agentstvo reported that a journalist it didn't identify may have developed symptoms before the meeting organized by Khodorkovsky.

Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper first reported on the investigation by German police.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)