The son of 'Novichok' victim Dawn Sturgess writes to Putin

Feeling ‘betrayed’ by UK, ‘Novichok’ victim’s son writes letter to PUTIN

RT,

3 March, 2019

Ewan Hope, the son of Amesbury poisoning victim Dawn Sturgess, has written a letter to Vladimir Putin, saying that the Russian leader is his only hope to bring justice for his mother as the UK government has abandoned his family.

"It is almost a year since my mother Dawn was killed by novichok in Salisbury and the pain never goes away for me or my family," Hope said in his letter to the Russian president, published by The Mirror.


"I am appealing to you as a human being," he wrote, asking Putin to allow the UK investigators to question two Russian nationals, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.


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Hope also said that he wrote to Putin because he was "desperate," and believes the Russian leader to be "the only man who can make sure justice prevails."


"I feel betrayed and let down by the [UK] Government," the 20-year-old confessed, adding that his mother was "an innocent victim, but we've never heard anything from [UK Prime Minister] Theresa May or the Government – not a phone call, a letter, or anything. We haven't even heard from our MP. We just find out things on the news the same as everyone else."


London believes Petrov and Boshirov to be the operatives of Russian Military Intelligence Directorate (GRU), which the UK has accused of poisoning the double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury last March. It has also claimed the very same substance killed Sturgess months later.


Sturgess passed away in hospital in July 2018 after spraying herself with the contents of a bottle that her friend, Charlie Rowley, found and took for expensive Nina Ricci perfume. London asserts the vial was used by the Russian agents in the Skripal attack and had the so-called Novichok (A-234) nerve agent inside.



Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement in the incidents, saying that the UK authorities have falsely accused Russia to achieve political goals at home. It also suggested that the poisonings may be connected to leaks from the Porton Down chemical laboratory, located in the area. Petrov and Boshirov for their part have insisted that they were simple tourists, who had nothing to do with the GRU, and that their lives were ruined by London’s claims.



When questioned about Hope’s letter, the Russian embassy in London told media that "We feel deep sympathy towards Mr Hope. Just like him, we would like to see his mother's death to be fully investigated."



The embassy grilled the UK authorities over their unwillingness to support their accusations against Russia with evidence as they instead "prefer to feed the public with multiple leaks, while refusing to confirm or deny them."

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"Now it turns out that even the closest relatives of those affected are kept in the dark over what actually happened, and they have to seek truth in Russia," it said.


Also on Saturday, the Russian mission published a long press-release on the Skripal saga, showing in detail how Britain has refused to cooperate with Russia on the case. According to the paper, out of 41 diplomatic requests and questions by Moscow regarding the fate of the Skipals and the investigation, only one was fulfilled by London, while 36 were "ignored,""denied" or met with an "unsatisfactory" response.



The whereabouts of Sergei and Yulia Skripal remains unknown since they left the Salisbury hospital last May after recovering from the poisoning. Moscow said that the UK special services have been holding the Russian citizens by force as diplomats are being denied access to them.