Toxic Mercury Pellets Found in Car of Russian Human Rights Lawyer

Russian human rights lawyer Karinna Moskalenko is ill, and toxic mercury pellets found in her car in Strasbourg, France, may be to blame.

French police were investigating, the New York Times reports. The pellets were found a few days before Moskalenko was to appear at a hearing into the death of her slain client, outspoken journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Moskalenko was too sick to attend the hearing.

Moskalenko told a Russian radio station she believes the pellets were put in her car to send a message, the Los Angeles Times reports. "People do not put mercury in your car to improve your health," she said.