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Drummond
01-21-2016, 08:23 AM
This concerns the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, back in 2006, in London.

Litvinenko was a Russian dissident ... formerly a FSB member, but who defected to the West and became a British citizen. He was poisoned in a Mayfair restaurant and died a particularly horrific and lingering death from Polonium poisoning.

It's a news story again because an Inquiry has just been published, showing its findings about the murder.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35370819


The murder of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 in the UK was 'probably' approved by President Vladimir Putin, an inquiry has found.

Mr Putin is likely to have signed off the poisoning of Mr Litvinenko with polonium-210 in part due to personal "antagonism" between the pair, it said.

Home Secretary Theresa May said the murder was a "blatant and unacceptable" breach of international law.
But the Russian Foreign Ministry said the public inquiry was "politicised".

It said: "We regret that the purely criminal case was politicised and overshadowed the general atmosphere of bilateral relations."

Mr Litvinenko's widow Marina welcomed the report, calling for sanctions to be imposed on Russia and a travel ban on Mr Putin.
Her husband died aged 43 in London in 2006, days after drinking tea poisoned with the radioactive substance.

The former Russian spy - who is believed to have later worked for MI6 - had been a fierce critic of the Kremlin.

Here's a surprise. Russia is far from happy !

http://news.sky.com/story/1627005/russia-slams-litvinenko-inquiry-as-biased


Moscow has condemned Britain's report into the death of former spy Alexander Litvinenko as "biased" and "politically motivated".

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also described the UK's handling of the case as "opaque" and said it had damaged ties between London and Moscow.

She added: "We lament the fact that a purely criminal case has been politicised and put a strain on our bilateral relationships.

"It is obvious that the decision to stop the coroner's investigation and start public hearings had a politicised basis.

I suggest that Polonium poisoning of a former FSB agent who later worked for MI6 is a little bit more than a mere 'criminal act', one that the Russian State should feel itself entitled to distance itself from ... from sheer arrogance, so far as I can see. Besides ... the Polonium left a radioactive trail across many parts of London afterwards.

Balu, Christie B ... any thoughts ? Should Russia be unaccountable for any of this ... just because they prefer it that way ?