Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably” approved a plan by Federal Security Service (FSB) to kill former agent Alexander Litvinenko, who died three weeks after drinking tea laced with poison at a London hotel, a British judge said yesterday.
In a lengthy report, Robert Owen said that he is certain Litvinenko was given tea with a fatal dose of polonium-210, a radioactive isotope that is deadly if ingested even in tiny quantities, in November 2006.
He said there is a “strong probability” that the FSB, successor to the Soviet-era KGB, directed the killing, and the operation was “probably approved” by Putin.
Before he died, Litvinenko accused Putin of ordering his killing, but this appears to be the first time anyone has officially linked Putin to it.
Moscow has always strongly denied involvement in Litvinenko’s death.
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zhakarova said that the government does not consider Owen’s conclusions to be objective or impartial.
“We regret that a purely criminal case has been politicized and has darkened the general atmosphere of bilateral relations,” Zhakarova said in a statement.
She said Britain’s decision to hold a public inquiry on the case was politically motivated and that the process was not transparent for the Russian side or the public.
Russia has refused to extradite the two main suspects, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun.
Lugovoi is a member of the Russian parliament, which means he is immune from prosecution.
In an interview with the Interfax news agency, he called the charges against him “absurd.”
“As we expected, there was no sensation,” he said. “The results of the investigation that were announced today once again confirm London’s anti-Russian position and the blinkered view and unwillingness of the British to establish the true cause of Litvinenko’s death.”
Litvinenko, a former FSB agent, fled to Britain in 2000 and became a vocal critic of Russia’s security service and of Putin, whom he accused of links to organized crime.
Owen said Litvinenko “was regarded as having betrayed the FSB” with his actions and that “there were powerful motives for organizations and individuals within the Russian state to take action against Mr Litvinenko, including killing him.”
Litvinenko’s widow, Marina, said outside the High Court that she was “very pleased that the words my husband spoke on his deathbed when he accused Mr Putin have been proved by an English court.”
She called for British Prime Minister David Cameron to take urgent steps against Russian agents operating inside Britain in light of the report.
“I’m calling immediately for expulsion from the UK of all Russian intelligence operatives ... based at the London embassy,” she said. “I’m also calling for the imposition of targeted economic sanctions and travel bans against named individuals including Mr [former FSB head Nikolai] Patrushev and Mr Putin.”
She said Britain’s Home Office had written to her on Wednesday night promising action.
In his 326-page report, Owen said that based on the evidence he had seen, the operation to kill Litvinenko was “probably” approved by then-FSB head Nikolai Patrushev, now head of Putin’s security council, and by Putin.
Owen said Litvinenko “repeatedly targeted President Putin” with “highly personal” public criticism.
A ship that appears to be taking on the identity of a scrapped gas carrier exited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, showing how strategies to get through the waterway are evolving as the Middle East war progresses. The vessel identifying as liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Jamal left the Strait on Friday morning, ship-tracking data show. However, the same tanker was also recorded as having beached at an Indian demolition yard in October last year, where it is being broken up, according to market participants and port agent’s reports. The ship claiming to be Jamal is likely a zombie vessel that
Cannabis-based medicines have shown little evidence of effectiveness for treating most mental health and substance-use disorders, according to a large review of past studies published in a major medical journal on Monday. Medical use of cannabinoids has been expanding, including in the US, Canada and Australia, where many patients report using cannabis products to manage conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep problems. Researchers reviewed data from 54 randomized clinical trials conducted between 1980 and May last year involving 2,477 participants for their analysis published in The Lancet. The studies assessed cannabinoids as a primary treatment for mental disorders or substance-use
NATIONWIDE BLACKOUT: US President Donald Trump cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba, strangling the Caribbean island’s already antiquated grid Cuba’s national electric grid collapsed on Monday, the nation’s grid operator said, leaving about 10 million people without power amid a US-imposed oil blockade that has crippled the already obsolete generation system. Grid operator UNE on social media said that it is investigating the causes of the blackout, the latest in a series of widespread outages that last for hours or days and that this weekend sparked a rare violent protest in the communist-run nation. Officials ruled out a major power plant failure, but had still not pinpointed the root cause of the grid collapse, suggesting a problem with transmission. Officials said that
‘HEALTH ISSUE’: More than 250 women are hospitalized every day due to complications from unsafe abortions, and about three die, a study showed Jane had been bleeding heavily for days before finally seeking help, not from a hospital, but from the man who sold her the pills meant to end her six-week pregnancy. Abortions are strictly outlawed in the mainly Catholic Philippines, forcing women to turn to a patchwork of providers operating in the online shadows. While rare in practice, Philippine law allows for prison terms of up to six years for abortion patients and providers, leaving thousands of Filipinas to search for solutions in online forums where unlicensed sellers promote abortifacients. “It was very painful, as if my abdomen was being twisted,” said Jane, whose
RSS