Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny
People gather outside a hospital, where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny receives medical treatment in Omsk, Russia August 21, 2020. Image Credit: Reuters

Moscow:  Russian police announced on Thursday they had launched a preliminary examination into opposition leader Alexei Navalny's illness, after the Kremlin dismissed German doctors' findings that he was likely poisoned.

Transport police in Siberia said they have started "a pre-investigation check" into what led to Navalny's hospitalisation in the city of Omsk to establish "all the circumstances" and decide whether or not to open a criminal probe.