Two Russians named as suspects in UK nerve agent attack: report

There is now sufficient evidence to charge Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov over the suspected nerve agent attack in the city of Salisbury in early March, British public broadcaster BBC reported on Wednesday, citing Scotland Yard and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The two are thought to have been using the names as aliases and are about 40 years old, the BBC said on its website.

Photos made available by the London Metropolitan Police showing Alexander Petrov (right) and Ruslan Boshirov (left). Photo: EPA/LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE

Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence agent convicted of spying for Britain, and his daughter Yulia are believed to have been poisoned with deadly Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury, a quiet town in southern England near the famous ancient ruins of Stonehenge.

In response to the incident, London in March expelled 23 Russian diplomats believed to be intelligence agents.

Poland expelled four Russian diplomats as part of a coordinated international response to the suspected nerve agent attack in Salisbury.

Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said at the time that Britain had been targeted in an "unprecedented attack which was the first deliberate use of chemical weapons against a group of civilians in Europe in the history of post-war Europe.”

Czaputowicz said in mid-March that Warsaw was “certain” that Moscow was involved in the suspected attack.

Moscow has denied allegations of Russian involvement.

Authorities in the UK are not applying to Russia for the extradition of the two suspects as London does not have extradition agreements with Moscow, the BBC said on Wednesday.

But it added that a European Arrest Warrant has been obtained in case they travel to the European Union.

Russia's foreign ministry has said the names and photographs of the men "do not mean anything" to Moscow, the BBC reported.

(gs/pk)

Source: bbc.com