Pussy Riot member, Peter Verzilov, has stated that he blames Russia for his recent poisoning.

Just under two weeks ago, Russian collective Pussy Riot announced that Veronika Nikulshina and a friend had been arrested while driving in Moscow. While no reason was initially given for their arrest, the group noted that the Russian government still held a grudge in regards to their controversial World Cup protest back in July.

Pitchfork later confirmed that Russian-Canadian activist Peter Verzilov (husband of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, and a participant in the World Cup protest) was also arrested while leaving his home.

Following this incident, fears were raised that Verzilov may have been poisoned after he began to inexplicably lose his sight, speech, and mobility following a court hearing for Veronika Nikulshina.

“[He] became worse in geometric progression,” Nikulshina explained. “First sight, then the ability to talk, then the ability to walk right.”

Over the weekend, Peter Verzilov was flown over to Germany for further treatment, with wife Nadezhda Tolokonnikova telling reporters she assumes he was “deliberately poisoned and that it was either about intimidation or even an assassination attempt.”

Soon, German doctors confirmed that Verzilov has been poisoned, noting that they were still completely unsure about what may have been used to take down the activist.

Now, in an interview with German tabloid Bild, Peter Verzilov has explained he’s eager to leave hospital, but is firmly of the belief that it’s members of the Russian government that are behind his condition.

“I am assuming that the Russian secret service is behind my poisoning, possibly the Russian intelligence service GRU,” he explained. “The poisoning went so professionally that it leaves no other conclusion.”

“[They] may have tried a new poison cocktail on me, because my poisoning was different than others: it did not take several days for me to notice, but it was immediately acute. I have no memory for the days after.”

“There are two possible reasons why the Russian secret service wanted to poison me,” Verzilov continued. “First, the action during the World Cup final, which drives them insane and my connection to the three Russian journalists who were murdered in Africa.”

The journalists that Peter Verzilov refers to are Orchan Dzhemal, Alexander Rastorguyev, and Kirill Radtchenko, who were murdered in July while researching a Russian mercenary group in the Central African Republic

“I wanted to and want to investigate what happened to the three journalists,” he explained. “That could have been the reason why the secret service wanted to poison me. I also consider it more likely as a background than the action at the World Cup.”

Check out Pussy Riot’s ‘Police State’:

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