British prosecutors accused a former KGB agent of murder Tuesday
in the radioactive poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko
and asked Russia to extradite him. Russian prosecutors quickly
refused.
Andrei Lugovoi, who has repeatedly denied any involvement with the
death, had met with Litvinenko - also a former KGB operative - at a
London hotel only hours before Litvinenko became ill with
polonium-210 poisoning.
Litvinenko, 43, died on November 23 after three agonizing weeks
in which his hair fell out, his skin turned yellow and his organs
failed after ingesting the rare radioactive isotope. On his
deathbed, he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being
behind his killing. The Russian government denies involvement.
The politically charged case has driven relations between London
and Moscow to post-Cold War lows.
One of Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett's top deputies
summoned the Russian ambassador Tuesday and urged Moscow to
cooperate. Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesman said the
government had an extradition agreement with Moscow.
"Murder is murder; this is a very serious case," Blair's
spokesman said on condition of anonymity, in line with government
policy. "The manner of the murder was also very serious because of
the risks to public health."
Russian prosecutors said they would not turn over Lugovoi but
that he could be tried in Russia.
"In accordance with Russian law, citizens of Russia cannot be
turned over to foreign states," spokeswoman Marina Gridneva of the
federal Prosecutor-General's office, told reporters. However, it is
possible he could be tried in Russia if evidence was handed over,
she said.
Formal extradition documents are expected to handed over later
this week, a Foreign Office spokesman said while speaking on
condition of anonymity in line with government policy.
Speaking from Tokyo, where she is in talks with Japanese
lawyers, Beckett said she strongly hoped that "Britain and Russia
could find a solution that would bring justice."
?
After the poisoning, investigators unearthed a trail of radiation
across London, which led to several buildings being cordoned off.
Some British Airways flights were grounded because of concerns they
might be contaminated by polonium. Health officials also tested
hundreds of individuals for suspected radiation poisoning.
Seventeen people tested positive for above-average levels of
polonium, but authorities say the risk to their health is low. Two
buildings remain closed to the public.
Litvinenko had become a vocal Kremlin critic who said Russian
authorities were behind deadly 1999 apartment building bombings
that fueled support for a renewed offensive against separatists in
Chechnya. Litvinenko also was a close associate of slain
investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
Litvinenko's widow, Marina, said she was "happy with the job
Scotland Yard did today." She said she hoped that Lugovoi would be
brought to Britain and tried in London so she could "get justice"
for her 11-year-old son Anatoly.
(China Daily via agencies May 23, 2007)
