A public inquiry began on Monday in Great Britain into the death of the British woman who died six years ago from an illness caused by a Russian military nerve agent of the Novichok type.
The nerve agent was used to kill former Russian-British double military intelligence agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal in March 2018 in the city of Salisbury in southwest England.
As a colonel in the Russian military intelligence (GRU), Skripal also worked for British foreign intelligence (MI6). He was sentenced to 13 years in prison in his home country, but was able to settle in Great Britain in 2010 as part of a Russian-American spy exchange, where he received British citizenship and lived in Salisbury until the poisoning incident.
She survived the poisoning with the novices together with her daughter, their current location is kept secret by the British government. Skripalek was also not summoned for a personal interview by the investigation committee for security reasons.
British authorities suspect three GRU agents of the assassination attempt. At the same time, Russia constantly denies having anything to do with the Skripal case.
A few weeks after the assassination attempt, two British citizens, 45-year-old Charlie Rowley and his 44-year-old partner, Dawn Sturgess, with three children, also suffered severe poisoning after the perfume vial containing the poison was found in Salisbury, which the perpetrators of the attack on the Skripals threw in public.
Rowley was released from Salisbury Hospital after lengthy treatment, but Dawn Sturgess died at the same hospital in July 2018.
A public inquiry into his death began on Monday in Salisbury led by a retired judge of the British Supreme Court, Anthony Hughes.
In his opening statement, Andrew O’Connor, the chief legal adviser to the inquiry committee, said: Dawn Sturgess’ heart stopped due to the poisoning, and although the arriving ambulances revived the woman and took her to the hospital, she died due to brain damage caused by the cardiac arrest.
According to O’Connor, the vial contained an amount of Novych nerve agent that could have killed thousands of people.
The Russian embassy in London described the British investigation as a “circus” in a statement on Monday.
The hearings are expected to last until the beginning of December, and the commission will publish its investigation report next year.
(MTI)
Source: www.portfolio.hu
