Navalny calls on Russia to return clothes he was wearing when he fell ill

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Monday demanded that Russian investigators return the clothing he was wearing at the time of his suspected poisoning, alleging that they confiscated his clothes before allowing German medical personnel to take over.

Reuters reported Monday that Navalny issued a statement via his website demanding a return of what he said would likely be key evidence used by investigators in the probe into his poisoning.

Navalny has remained in a German hospital since falling ill on a domestic Russian flight and being rushed to the country for treatment, and German authorities have said that he was the victim of an assassination attempt.

“Before they allowed for me to be taken to Germany, they took off all my clothes and sent me completely naked,” he said in a statement, according to Reuters. “Considering Novichok was found on my body, and that infection through contact is very likely, my clothes are a very important piece of evidence.”

“I demand that my clothes be carefully packed in a plastic bag and returned to me,” Navalny added.

Novichok is suspected of being the poison that made Navalny ill.

The politician has become the latest headache for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government as the U.S. and European nations have demanded answers over his poisoning. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rejected Russia’s denials of involvement during a recent interview with conservative host Ben Shapiro.

“There is a substantial chance that this actually came from senior Russian officials,” Pompeo told Shapiro.

“We’ll make sure we do our part to do whatever we can to reduce the risk that things like this happen again,” he added.

House lawmakers have also called for Russia to face more sanctions if a link can be proved between Navalny’s poisoning and the Russian government.

“If the Russian government is once again determined to have used a chemical weapon against one of its own nationals, additional sanctions should be imposed,” wrote the top members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in a letter to President Trump on the issue.