LONDON, September 30. /TASS/. The decision not to summon former Russian military intelligence (GRU) officer Sergey Skripal, convicted in Russia of high treason, and his daughter Yulia, to court hearings in the UK violates Russia’s legitimate right to reliable information about its compatriots, the Russian Embassy said in a commentary.

It was published as a response to the position of former Justice of the UK Supreme Court Anthony Hughes who was chairing the inquiry into the death of the British woman Dawn Sturgess. He ruled that the Skripals will not give evidence at a public inquiry over fears for their safety.

"The decision not to engage Sergey and Yulia in the hearings on the death of Dawn Sturgess once again demonstrates how stubbornly UK authorities are trying to hide our citizens from the public view," the embassy noted. "Thereby, Russia’s legal right to reliable information about its citizens, their health and legal status, is being violated, as well as about the provocation using which London inspired a large-scale anti-Russian campaign six years ago," the diplomatic agency added.

"We will keep trying to get answers to these questions from the British authorities," the embassy vowed.

Hughes said that the decision was made because of an "overwhelming risk" of a physical attack on the Skripals as appearing in person could lead to their identities and whereabouts being exposed. He also warned that they must not give evidence remotely as their location could be pinpointed. Earlier, the Sturgess family wanted the Skripals to give oral evidence to address "unanswered questions."

Hughes asserted that the court will be satisfied with transcripts of police interviews with the father and daughter following Sturgess’ death in the summer of 2018. He noted that the Skripals had provided further statements addressing specific questions that the Sturgess family had raised.

Skripal saga

According to London, former Russian military intelligence (GRU) Colonel Sergey Skripal, who had been convicted in Russia of spying for Great Britain and later swapped for Russian intelligence officers, and his daughter Yulia, were exposed to an alleged nerve agent in the British city of Salisbury on March 4, 2018. Claiming that the substance used in the attack had been a Novichok-class nerve agent developed in the Soviet Union, London rushed to accuse Russia of being involved in the incident. Moscow strongly rejected all of the United Kingdom’s accusations, saying that neither the Soviet Union nor Russia ever had any program aimed at developing such a substance. Experts from the United Kingdom’s Defense Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down were unable to identify the origin of the substance allegedly used in the attack on the Skripals.

On July 4, 2018, the British police reported an incident in the town of Amesbury where two people had been taken to the hospital in critical condition after being affected by an unidentified substance. London’s Metropolitan Police later confirmed that the man and the woman had been poisoned with the same nerve agent that had been used on the Skripals. The woman — 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess — died on July 8, while her partner — 45-year-old Charlie Rowley — survived.

London claims that the Russian government was involved in the Skripal poisoning, using the A234 nerve agent, while Sturgess became an accidental victim after getting a bottle that Rowley had collected in a park thinking it contained perfume. Moscow strongly rejected the allegations. The Russian Foreign Ministry has sent dozens of diplomatic notes to the British Foreign Office, demanding that London provide Moscow with access to the investigation and the affected Russian nationals, as well as requesting legal assistance and offering cooperation, particularly in a joint probe.

The public inquiry hearing is due to begin in Salisbury on October 14.