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

"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 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," said the 20-year-old, 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 operatives of the 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 that 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 mistook for expensive Nina Ricci perfume. London asserts that 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 in order 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 have insisted that they were simply 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: "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."

"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 Skripals 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 remain unknown since they left 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.

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