© Andrew Parsons/ Global Look PressZizzi restaurant where the Skripals dined, Salisbury, UK
Okay, so I'm up to 70 questions so far on this case (
here,
here and
here), and here come another 20. Most of these are focused on Yulia Skripal, but there are also a number of questions at the end relating to the main character in the case, who so far seems to have been almost entirely forgotten. Let's just call him or her or them "A. Suspect", and note that so far he or she or they have been curiously conspicuous by their absence.
1. Both Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were admitted to Salisbury District Hospital (SDH) on 4th March 2018 and were said to have been in a coma in the weeks that followed. During this time, what actions were taken by the Hospital Trust to inform their next of kin of their condition - particularly Mr Skripal's 90-year-old mother (and of course Yulia's grandmother) -, and to keep them updated throughout their illness?
2. According to reports on 28th March, both Mr Skripal and his daughter were in a critical condition,
and it was even suggested that the likelihood of either of them surviving was so remote that a judgement might be needed to make the "politically-sensitive decision over whether to maintain life support" for them.
Yet just eight days later, on 5th April, it emerged that Yulia Skripal had contacted her cousin, Viktoria, by telephone, and that
she had repeatedly stressed that "everything is fine" and "everyone is fine", including her father, who she said was "having a sleep".
This suggests that the two of them had recovered a good while before the phone call. On what dates did the two of them regain consciousness?3. The telephone conversation, which was recorded by Viktoria and played on Russian television, was the first public information that both Yulia and her father were no longer in a "critical condition".
Why was this information not made public before her phone call was aired?
Comment: Smarter move. Russia is picking its economic-response battles and not putting its own industry in double-jeopardy.
See also: Russian counter-sanctions to US: Cease exporting titanium components to Boeing