- Entrou
- Out 5, 2021
- Mensagens
- 53,162
- Gostos Recebidos
- 1,478
Salisbury Novichok victim says 'Russian agents stupid to come back' as inquiry nears
Charlie Rowley still wrestles with the guilt of unwittingly gifting his partner, Dawn, Novichok poison believed to be abandoned by Russian hitmen, which he thought was a bottle of discarded perfume
The man who mistakenly gifted his girlfriend a bottle of discarded Novichok poison has called for justice for his late partner.
Charlie Rowley found a discarded bottle of the nerve agent in a charity bin in Salisbury in July 2018. Believing it to be a bottle of Premier Jour perfume, he gave it to his partner Dawn Sturgess.
After handling the bottle, Dawn, 44, was killed while Charlie, now 51, fell into a coma and remained in intensive care for 20 days. It’s believed the bottle of nerve agent was thrown away four months earlier by Russian agents who were sent to the city to poison ex-spy Sergei Skripal, 67, and his daughter Yulia, 34.
On the eve of the independent inquiry into Dawn’s death, Charlie hopes the inquiry will bring a sense of justice for Dawn’s family. He doesn’t believe the hearing will bring him closure, but hopes it will help Dawn’s family.
He told The Mirror: "The inquiry must honour Dawn - it’s important she gets justice because she was a wonderful woman. I think about her all the time. I still struggle with sleep over what happened. Justice will only come when the people who did this are brought to account. I fear they never will be.
"I hope the inquiry helps Dawn’s family. I hope it gets closure all round, but I’m pretty sure it won’t. Until they’re caught, I don’t think it’ll make any difference. Until then it’s just another thing, isn’t it?".
Both Sergei and his daughter survived the attack, after the deadly nerve agent was smeared on the doorknob of their front door, and are now living under police protection.
Charlie and Dawn’s family, including Dawn’s two sons and daughter have pressed for the Skripals to give evidence in person so they can ask questions.
However, Lord Hughes of Ombersley has rejected the idea, and ordered that Skripals must not give evidence in person or remotely at Salisbury Guildhall as Putin’s agents could work out their location.
After the horrific incident, Charlie suffered strokes, contracted meningitis and has sight problems. He also suffers flashbacks and struggles to sleep as he wrestles with his guilt of unknowingly giving the poison to Dawn.
Scotland Yard charged two GRU spies who travelled under the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov with attempted murder of the Skripals and the poisoning of two police officers in September 2018. They have not been charged over Dawn’s death.
A global arrest warrant was issued, but the Kremlin refuses to extradite the suspects.
Charlie says that he wants the men caught and brought to justice, adding: “As long as they’re in Russia they’re safe aren’t they? I’m sure they could get hold of a fake ID to travel if they really wanted to, but they would be stupid to come back here."
Daily Star Sunday
Charlie Rowley still wrestles with the guilt of unwittingly gifting his partner, Dawn, Novichok poison believed to be abandoned by Russian hitmen, which he thought was a bottle of discarded perfume
The man who mistakenly gifted his girlfriend a bottle of discarded Novichok poison has called for justice for his late partner.
Charlie Rowley found a discarded bottle of the nerve agent in a charity bin in Salisbury in July 2018. Believing it to be a bottle of Premier Jour perfume, he gave it to his partner Dawn Sturgess.
After handling the bottle, Dawn, 44, was killed while Charlie, now 51, fell into a coma and remained in intensive care for 20 days. It’s believed the bottle of nerve agent was thrown away four months earlier by Russian agents who were sent to the city to poison ex-spy Sergei Skripal, 67, and his daughter Yulia, 34.
On the eve of the independent inquiry into Dawn’s death, Charlie hopes the inquiry will bring a sense of justice for Dawn’s family. He doesn’t believe the hearing will bring him closure, but hopes it will help Dawn’s family.
He told The Mirror: "The inquiry must honour Dawn - it’s important she gets justice because she was a wonderful woman. I think about her all the time. I still struggle with sleep over what happened. Justice will only come when the people who did this are brought to account. I fear they never will be.
"I hope the inquiry helps Dawn’s family. I hope it gets closure all round, but I’m pretty sure it won’t. Until they’re caught, I don’t think it’ll make any difference. Until then it’s just another thing, isn’t it?".
Both Sergei and his daughter survived the attack, after the deadly nerve agent was smeared on the doorknob of their front door, and are now living under police protection.
Charlie and Dawn’s family, including Dawn’s two sons and daughter have pressed for the Skripals to give evidence in person so they can ask questions.
However, Lord Hughes of Ombersley has rejected the idea, and ordered that Skripals must not give evidence in person or remotely at Salisbury Guildhall as Putin’s agents could work out their location.
After the horrific incident, Charlie suffered strokes, contracted meningitis and has sight problems. He also suffers flashbacks and struggles to sleep as he wrestles with his guilt of unknowingly giving the poison to Dawn.
Scotland Yard charged two GRU spies who travelled under the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov with attempted murder of the Skripals and the poisoning of two police officers in September 2018. They have not been charged over Dawn’s death.
A global arrest warrant was issued, but the Kremlin refuses to extradite the suspects.
Charlie says that he wants the men caught and brought to justice, adding: “As long as they’re in Russia they’re safe aren’t they? I’m sure they could get hold of a fake ID to travel if they really wanted to, but they would be stupid to come back here."
Daily Star Sunday