Disinfo: No evidence after 2 years of the alleged poisoning of the Skripals

Summary

British authorities were unable to provide evidence confirming the charges against Russia, neither did they arrest the person who used the Novichok poison against a former Russian intelligence officer, Sergei Skripal.

Without verifying the information or the results of the investigations, the former Theresa May government rushed to accuse Moscow of being directly behind the alleged attack and thus targeting Britain’s security and stability.

Until now, the British authorities have not announced the results of the investigations that were aimed at Russia’s involvement on the basis of its use of the deadly Novichok chemicals used in the fabricated attack, nor did it arrest anyone involved in that attack, which led raise questions about the credibility of the British accusations and their political backgrounds.

London refused Russia’s participation, along with international and British investigators, in the attack’s investigations. Two years later, the Salisbury incident still raises many questions, about whether the alleged assault was really chemical. Where is the physical evidence that the British authorities claimed was in their possession to implicate Russia, where are Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, and why is the Russian embassy prevented from reaching them, especially as Yulia Skripal is still a Russian citizen.

Disproof

Recurring disinformation about the poisoning of the Skripals, attempting to divert attention from Russia's proven responsibility for the attack and resurfacing around the 2nd anniversary of this event.

The disinformation message implying a UK government conspiracy behind the Skripal case is an often-used method of applying a pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Salisbury poisoning.

After a hearing in the Court of Protection, British High Court Justice David Williams issued an approved judgement about what had happened to the Skripals around three weeks after their poisoning in March 2018.

The British Police have presented a solid chain of evidence on the Skripal case, with pictures, connecting the suspects to the locations in the case. Parts of the material have been released to the public. The evidence was sufficient to charge two Russian nationals, Anatoliy Chepiga and Aleksandr Mishkin with the attack on the Skripals, both Russian military intelligence operatives from the GRU, who travelled to the UK using fake names and documents.

Following this attack, the United Kingdom notified the OPCW, invited them to confirm the identity of the substance involved, and briefed members of the Security Council. The OPCW’s independent expert laboratories confirmed the UK’s identification of the Russian produced Novichok nerve agent, specifically the purity of the toxin while emphasising that the OPCW team “worked independently and was not involved in the national investigation by the UK authorities. No State Party was involved in the technical work carried out by the Technical Secretariat, to ensure the integrity of the examinations and investigations.

According to the UK intelligence assessment, based on open-source analysis and intelligence information, in the past decade, Russia has produced and stockpiled small quantities of Novichok agents, long after it signed the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Novichok was developed in Russia in the 1970s and 1980s. It is so unusual, that very few scientists outside of Russia have any real experience in dealing with it and no country outside of Russia is known to have developed the substance. See reports by CNN, BBC, the Guardian.

Furthermore, regarding access to the Skripals, Yulia Skripal stated in an interview that she was aware of Russian officials’ offers to meet, but that she declined to do so.

See here for disinformation narratives about the case.

Go to search

publication/media

Daily News @ RT TV AR [ 0:17 - 0:30], [1:00 - 1:27], [1:50 - 1:55], [2:00 - 2:30], eshraag, shafaqna, akhbarlibya, sahafaty, saadaonline, elssayda, emeknes, albidda, gulfmedia,
  • Reported in: Issue 188
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 04/03/2020
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: UK, Russia
  • Keywords: novichok, Sergei Skripal, Diplomacy with Russia, Anti-Russian, Provocation, Encircling Russia, Chemical weapons/attack, Conspiracy theory, Russophobia
see more

Disinfo: White Helmets cooperate with terrorists to discredit Damascus

The White Helmets organization is accused of cooperating with terrorists and carrying out propaganda activities against the Syrian government.

Mar 03, 2020
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin narratives portraying the White Helmets as a Western-backed terrorist proxy and, implicitly, denying the responsibility of the Assad regime for chemical attacks perpetrated during the Syrian civil war.

The "White Helmets" movement originated in Syria in 2012. Volunteers save people from the rubble after bombings, despite the danger of dying themselves as a result of repeated airstrikes. Activists have documented the use of chemical weapons in Syria, later confirmed by OPCW. Because of this, they have become the target of an extensive Russian disinformation campaign.

Disinfo: In Sweden you get ten years prison for demonstrating without permission

In almost all countries, including European, demonstration without permission is punished with prison. Usually short terms, form six months to one year. But in some countries, like Sweden, if 12 or more a gathered for a non-sanctioned meeting, this is considered a mass riot and will give you five or ten years in prison. Russia does not have such strict laws.

Mar 03, 2020
Disproof

An unfounded claim to depict Russia as more democratic than other countries. The right to organise manifestations is protected by the Swedish constitution. Permission to stage a demonstration is needed only within city limits and in areas of industry, ports etc. For organising a demonstration without permission, punishment is, according to Swedish law on public order, up to six months prison. The right to participate is still protected by the consitution. According to Swedish criminal code, staging violent riots is punished with up to four years prison.

Disinfo: US bureaucrats yearn for World War III

The US Department of State plans to initiate a global war by pressing the Department of Defense to place Patriot missiles in Turkey in order to repel the Syrian government-led offensive in Idlib. However, the Pentagon has engaged in a bitter confrontation with the Department of State over this proposal, calling it the provocation of World War III, given that Russia will respond in kind.

Mar 03, 2020
Disproof

Recurring narrative of warmongering as a result of the West’s meddling in the Syrian crisis. The article misquotes and misrepresents a report by Politico. The nuance of the translations from English into Bulgarian is exaggerated: Politico’s characterisation of the clash between the Department of State and the Department of Defense as an ‘internal disagreement’ and as being ‘at odds’ is rendered as a ‘bitter confrontation’ in the Bulgarian language. Also, the News Front article creates a fake statement ostensibly made by the Pentagon (i.e. that the Department of State strives to provoke World War III), which however does not appear in Politico. Moreover, the wider context of the Politico report – particularly concerning the Syrian government-led offensive in Idlib, the Turkish soldier death toll it took and Turkey’s subsequent call on its NATO allies for support, is left out.