World

Alleged Identity of Skripal Poisoning Suspect Boshirov Not on Interpol List

PARIS (Sputnik) - Interpol does not have anyone named Anatoly Chepiga — alleged by UK investigating bloggers from Bellingcat to be the real name of Ruslan Boshirov, a suspect in the Skripal poisoning case — on its international wanted list.
Sputnik

The statement followed Wednesday's publication by Bellingcat, in cooperation with the Insider Russia website, which claimed that Boshirov was "in fact" a military intelligence colonel called Anatoly Chepiga. Bellingcat has in the past published materials that were unconfirmed.

READ MORE: Zakharova Says New Salisbury Claims Aim to Distract Public From the Incident

A search of Interpol red notices showed that there was no one under the last name of Chepiga. There are no red notices for Boshirov and Petrov either. According to media reports, Interpol red notices and European arrest warrants have already been issued for suspects in the Skripal case.

UK Defense Chief Pulls Tweet Claiming Salisbury Suspect's 'True Identity' Known
On September 5, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that it had sufficient evidence to charge two Russian nationals, Alexander Petrov and Boshirov, as suspects in the near-fatal nerve agent attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury. UK Prime Minister Theresa May said the suspects were working for the Russian military intelligence, albeit without providing proof to back her statement.

Petrov and Boshirov told the RT broadcaster in an interview earlier this month that they knew nothing about the Skripals and refuted all allegations of their involvement in the case. The two said they worked in the fitness industry and had gone to Salisbury as tourists.

READ MORE: UK Police Question Couple After New Salisbury Poisoning Case

Bellingcat previously alleged that Petrov and Boshirov were military intelligence agents, according to the Federal Migration Service data. However, Deputy Interior Minister Igor Zubov said that it was impossible to obtain this kind of information from migration service data.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stressed that the Skripal case was falling apart due to the lack of proof.

The ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, has said that the story about Boshirov's alleged identity was fake news and a means to divert the public's attention from the Salisbury poisoning.

Discuss