The Kremlin on Thursday dismissed the results of a British inquiry into the poisoning death of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko as a possible “joke” after a London judge pointed the finger at Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Advertisement
Judge Robert Owen said Thursday he is certain that Litvinenko was given tea laced with a fatal dose of polonium-210 at a London hotel in November 2006.
The murder of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London was carried out by the country’s secret service “probably” on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, an inquiry has concluded.
“The FSB operation to kill Mr Litvinenko was probably approved by Mr Patrushev (Nikolai Partushev, head of the FSB) and also by President Putin”.
Russian Federation has always refused to extradite suspects Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, who claim they are innocent.
Litvinenko sought asylum in Britain in 2000 and proceeded to make a series of very personal attacks on Putin as well as damning allegations against the Russian government and FSB.
The inquiry, convened following a long legal battle by Mr Litvinenko’s widow Marina, took evidence from dozens of witnesses and examined a huge number of documents.
Britain’s government announced the inquiry in July 2014, just days after the downing of a Malaysian passenger jet over eastern Ukraine a tragedy blamed on Russia’s involvement in the conflict in the region in what was seen as a way of punishing Russian Federation.
“It goes without saying that this was a blatant and unacceptable breach of the most fundamental tenants of global law and of civilized behavior”, May said in her Commons statement.
British Home Secretary Theresa May called Litvinenko’s death “a deeply shocking event” and called Owen’s report “detailed, thorough, and impartial”. The New York Timesreports that British diplomats don’t want a little extrajudicial killing to prevent continued cooperation between Russian Federation and the West over resolving the war in Syria. Owen said that Litvinenko was targeted because he threatened to expose examples of Putin’s corruption, including ties to organized crime.
While there was no direct proof, Owen said it was “likely” the FSB chief would have sought Putin’s approval for an operation to kill Litvinenko.
And the two agents identified in the report as the killers said it was “crazy” and discredited the British justice system.
“Well this report should tell you in the West what Sasha (Alexander) Litvinenko was trying to tell while he was alive: that you are dealing here with a murderous dictatorship, which is basically anti-Western and it took ten years to get his message through”.
Advertisement
“We lament the fact that a purely criminal case has been politicized and put a strain on our bilateral relationships”, she said.
