“The results of the inquiry made public today once again confirm London’s anti-Russian stance, tunnel thinking and the unwillingness of the British to establish the true cause of Litvinenko’s death”.
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Sir Robert said he was “sure” the murder had been carried out by Lugovoi and Kovtun, and the report said there was an earlier attempt by them to poison Mr Litvinenko at a meeting in London in October 2006. Check back soon for further information.
Marino Litvinenko also wants a travel ban on Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Judge Owen said that “there can be no doubt that Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned by Mr. Lugovoi and Mr. Kovtun” in the Pine Bar of London’s Millennium Hotel.
– November 1, 2006: Litvinenko falls violently ill after drinking tea with two Russian men, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, at the Millenium Hotel in London.
Both Lugovoi and Kovtun deny involvement in the murder and Russian Federation has refused requests to have them extradited to the UK.
Which could present problems given the need for Russia’s part in the Middle East, but without actions that is demanding folks may request in the event the Russian government was permitted to get away with what’s been called an act of nuclear terrorism on the roads of London.
Owen said Litvinenko “had repeatedly targeted President Putin” with “highly personal” public criticism.
“When Mr Lugovoy poisoned Mr Litvinenko, it is probable that he did so under the direction of [KGB successor] the FSB”.
His widow, Marina Litvinenko welcomes the report’s “damning finding” and has called for the United Kingdom to impose sanctions on Russian Federation.
From his deathbed, Litvinenko reportedly told detectives he believed Putin had directly ordered his killing.
Much focus will fall on the report’s conclusions regarding allegations that the Russian state was involved in the murder.
Britain’s home secretary, Theresa May, who oversees national security and domestic counter-intelligence, said that the Russian ambassador would be summoned to hear their “profound displeasure” over the incident, the Post reported.
But when he took into account all the evidence available to him, including a “considerable quantity” of secret intelligence that was not aired in open court, he found “that the FSB operation to kill Litvinenko was probably approved by [Nikolai] Patrushev [head of the Russian security service] and also by President Putin”.
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The case shows the “way in which the political environment that now exists in Russian Federation seems to also extend, at least in some occasions, beyond Russia’s borders”, Earnest said at a press briefing. “We had no reason to expect that the final findings of the politically motivated and extremely non-transparent process would suddenly become objective and unbiased”, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
