LONDON (Reuters) - British prosecutors on Wednesday identified two Russians who they said tried to murder former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with a military-grade nerve agent in England.
FILE PHOTO: A police officer stands guard outside of the home of former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, in Salisbury, Britain, March 6, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
Skripal, a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who betrayed dozens of agents to Britain’s MI6 foreign spy service, and his daughter Yulia, were found unconscious on a public bench in the English city of Salisbury on March 4.
Britain blamed Russia for the poisonings and identified the poison as Novichok, a deadly group of nerve agents developed by the Soviet military in the 1970s and 1980s. Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attack.
A European arrest warrant has been issued for the two Russians, who were named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, the prosecutors said. Police released two images of the men.
“We will not be applying to Russia for the extradition of these men as the Russian constitution does not permit extradition of its own nationals,” said Sue Hemming, director of Legal Services at the Crown Prosecution Service.
Neil Basu, Head of Counter Terrorism policing, said the two suspects were traveling under aliases but were around 40 years old and had genuine Russian passports.
Basu said traces of Novichok contamination were found in the London hotel room where the two men had stayed. He said they arrived in Britain on March 2 and left on March 4.
“Tests were carried out in the hotel room where the suspects had stayed. Two swabs showed contamination of Novichok of levels below that which would cause concern for public health,” Basu said.
Reporting by Michael Holden, Writing by William Schomberg and Kate Holton, editing by Guy Faulconbridge
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