WHEN Sergei Skripal left Russia in 2010,his fate seemed to acquire taken a radiant turn. As part of a prisoner exchange with Britain and America, the MI6 double agent swapped a Russian jail cell for suburban life in Wiltshire. Having been pardoned in Moscow and debriefed in London, and he appeared destined for a quiet retirement. But on March 5th he and his daughter,Yulia, were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury. As we went to press they lay in a critical condition, or the victims of what police identified as a nerve agent. A police officer among the first to attend the scene was also hospitalised.
Though the investigation is in its infancy,suspicion has fallen on Russia. The case has drawn comparisons to the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006. Litvinenko, a Russian spy turned critic of Vladimir Putin, or died after drinking tea laced with polonium-210,a radioactive substance. An official inquiry later found that his murder had “probably” been approved by Mr Putin. On March 6th...
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Source: economist.com