Novichok victim's son writes letter to Vladmir Putin begging him to give up poisoning suspects

Vladmir Putin has been asked to allow two Russian nationals to be questioned
AP
Jacob Jarvis3 March 2019
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Novichok victim Dawn Sturgess' son has written to Vladimir Putin pleading for two men suspected of killing his mother to be handed over to British police.

Ewan Hope penned a letter to the Russian president asking that he allows UK authorities to question the pair of Russian citizens they believe to be behind the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

His mother Dawn, 44, was fatally poisoned by the substance last July in Amesbury.

Mr Hope, 20, has written an emotional message to Mr Putin in which he said the family is still in "pain" following their loss.

Dawn Sturgess died in July
PA

He wrote: “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.

“British police believe at least two Russian citizens were responsible for her death but it appears they are being protected by your state.

“I am appealing to you as a human being to allow our officers to question these men about my mother’s murder.

“The least she deserves is justice.”

Ms Sturgess' death came after former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were targeted with the nerve agent in nearby Salisbury that March.

Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia both survived the nerve agent poisoning

The chemical was smeared over their door of Mr Skripal's home and the a perfume bottle containing Novichok ended up in the hands of Ms Sturgess after it was found by her partner Charlie Rowley.

Ms Sturgess is believed to have unknowingly sprayed the nerve agent across herself from the perfume bottle which led to her death.

Both the Skripals spent months in hospital after being found on a bench and both survived the attack. Mr Rowley also fell ill but survived.

Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov, the two men suspected of carrying out the Novichok attack, captured by CCTV last March
PA/Met Police

Mr Hope said he believes President Putin is the only one who can help justice prevail, though he fears that closure is something his family will never get.

Two Russian nationals, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, were alleged to have been seen on CCTV dispatching the substance, though President Putin has denied their involvement.

It was later reported by Bellingcat Mr Boshirov was actually highly-decorated Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga and Mr Petrov was a military doctor called Alexander Yevgenyevich Mishkin.

In an interview with RT, the men said they had travelled to visit the city of Wiltshire and to see Stonehenge upon it being suggested by friends.

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