Russian prosecutors say no indication of crime against Navalny, no criminal probe needed

The German hospital treating him said its initial medical examination pointed to poisoning, though Russian doctors who had treated Navalny in a Siberian hospital have contradicted that diagnosis. German authorities have agreed to cooperate with Russia on the case, the Prosecutor General's office added in a statement.

The Russian Prosecutor General's office said on Thursday there was no indication a crime had been committed against Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who is in a medically-induced coma in a Berlin hospital after what allies say was a poisoning. The office added it saw no basis to open a criminal investigation following Navalny's hospitalization in Russia last week.

Navalny, 44, was airlifted to Germany on Saturday after collapsing during a flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow. The German hospital treating him said its initial medical examination pointed to poisoning, though Russian doctors who had treated Navalny in a Siberian hospital have contradicted that diagnosis.

German authorities have agreed to cooperate with Russia on the case, the Prosecutor General's office added in a statement.