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Inquiry Into Death of Litvinenko, a Putin Critic, Nears Conclusion Inquiry Into Death of Litvinenko, a Putin Critic, Nears Conclusion
(about 1 hour later)
LONDON — After 28 days of hearings, testimony by scores of witnesses and the presentation of reams of documentary evidence, a high-profile inquiry into the death of Alexander V. Litvinenko, a former K.G.B. officer poisoned with radioactive polonium 210, drew toward a close on Monday.LONDON — After 28 days of hearings, testimony by scores of witnesses and the presentation of reams of documentary evidence, a high-profile inquiry into the death of Alexander V. Litvinenko, a former K.G.B. officer poisoned with radioactive polonium 210, drew toward a close on Monday.
Throughout the inquiry, which formally began on Jan. 27 after years of British and Russian resistance, the Kremlin has remained aloof. It withdrew its participation before the inquiry started and declined to extradite two Russian citizens who have denied British accusations of murder in the case: Andrei K. Lugovoi and Dmitri V. Kovtun.Throughout the inquiry, which formally began on Jan. 27 after years of British and Russian resistance, the Kremlin has remained aloof. It withdrew its participation before the inquiry started and declined to extradite two Russian citizens who have denied British accusations of murder in the case: Andrei K. Lugovoi and Dmitri V. Kovtun.
In a last-minute development, however, the judge in charge of the inquiry ruled that the conclusion of public hearings would be delayed to permit Mr. Kovtun to participate.
Mr. Kovtun, a former Red Army officer, had applied to be a “core participant” in the inquiry. He made the application weeks after the inquiry started, in what British lawyers saw as a ploy to derail its schedule.
The judge, Robert Owen, suggested on Monday that Mr. Kovtun should be given until May 22 to produce written evidence and set July 27 as the date on which he should give evidence by video link. Judge Owen had said that the public part of his inquiry should end before Easter.
Mr. Litvinenko, 43, a whistle-blower and vitriolic opponent of President Vladimir V. Putin, died in November 2006 after ingesting polonium-laced tea during an encounter with Mr. Lugovoi and Mr. Kovtun at the upscale Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square, just across from the American Embassy in central London.Mr. Litvinenko, 43, a whistle-blower and vitriolic opponent of President Vladimir V. Putin, died in November 2006 after ingesting polonium-laced tea during an encounter with Mr. Lugovoi and Mr. Kovtun at the upscale Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square, just across from the American Embassy in central London.
His death came six years after he fled Russia and just weeks after he and his family were granted British citizenship. Early in the inquiry, Mr. Lugovoi, a former K.G.B. bodyguard and prosperous entrepreneur who has since become a lawmaker in Russia, dismissed the accusation of murder.His death came six years after he fled Russia and just weeks after he and his family were granted British citizenship. Early in the inquiry, Mr. Lugovoi, a former K.G.B. bodyguard and prosperous entrepreneur who has since become a lawmaker in Russia, dismissed the accusation of murder.
This month, Mr. Kovtun, a former Red Army officer, said he wanted to reverse his resistance to testifying at the inquiry. But there has been no indication so far about whether Robert Owen, the senior British judge leading the inquiry, will permit him to do so by video link. This month, Mr. Kovtun, a former Red Army officer, said he wanted to reverse his resistance to testifying at the inquiry. “I am ready to answer everything,” Mr. Kovtun told the BBC. “I had nothing to do with the murder.”
“I am ready to answer everything,” Mr. Kovtun told the BBC. “I had nothing to do with the murder.” Mr. Kovtun and Mr. Lugovoi would both face arrest if they traveled to Britain, which would force Mr. Kovtun to testify by video link. Russia has said that its Constitution forbids the extradition of its own citizens.
Mr. Kovtun and Mr. Lugovoi would both face arrest if they traveled to Britain. Russia has said that its Constitution forbids the extradition of its own citizens. Judge Owen has said that important evidence relating to the involvement of the British intelligence and security agencies will be kept secret before he produces a final report, which is expected this year. Russian investigators withdrew from the inquiry ostensibly to protest the secrecy of some of the proceedings.
According to the inquiry’s website, Judge Owen will hear evidence on Monday from witnesses including Craig Mascall, the detective inspector who led the investigation into the killing, and will then consider final legal submissions. The hearings may extend into the next day, according to the inquiry’s website, but Judge Owen has said that he wants the public hearings to end by Tuesday.
He has also said that important evidence relating to the involvement of the British intelligence and security agencies will be kept secret before he produces a final report, which is expected this year. Russian investigators withdrew from the inquiry ostensibly to protest the secrecy of some of the proceedings.
Moscow’s withdrawal has left the inquiry without an official Russian voice to offer the Kremlin’s version of events or to articulate its denials of responsibility.Moscow’s withdrawal has left the inquiry without an official Russian voice to offer the Kremlin’s version of events or to articulate its denials of responsibility.
In testimony so far, British scientists have said the radiation that killed Mr. Litvinenko could only have come from Russia, which produces the bulk of the world’s commercial polonium, a rare isotope once used as a trigger in nuclear weapons.In testimony so far, British scientists have said the radiation that killed Mr. Litvinenko could only have come from Russia, which produces the bulk of the world’s commercial polonium, a rare isotope once used as a trigger in nuclear weapons.
“The murder was an act of unspeakable barbarism that inflicted on Alexander Litvinenko the most painful and lingering death imaginable,” Ben Emmerson, a lawyer acting for Marina Litvinenko, the victim’s widow, said when the inquiry opened. “It was also an act of nuclear terrorism on the streets of a major city, which put the lives of numerous other members of the public at risk.”“The murder was an act of unspeakable barbarism that inflicted on Alexander Litvinenko the most painful and lingering death imaginable,” Ben Emmerson, a lawyer acting for Marina Litvinenko, the victim’s widow, said when the inquiry opened. “It was also an act of nuclear terrorism on the streets of a major city, which put the lives of numerous other members of the public at risk.”
Mr. Litvinenko “had to be eliminated — not because he was an enemy of the Russian state itself or an enemy of the Russian people, but because he had become an enemy of the close-knit group of criminals who surround Vladimir Putin and keep his corrupt regime in power,” Mr. Emmerson said, referring to the Russian president and citing investigations by Mr. Litvinenko into organized crime gangs in Russia and Spain.Mr. Litvinenko “had to be eliminated — not because he was an enemy of the Russian state itself or an enemy of the Russian people, but because he had become an enemy of the close-knit group of criminals who surround Vladimir Putin and keep his corrupt regime in power,” Mr. Emmerson said, referring to the Russian president and citing investigations by Mr. Litvinenko into organized crime gangs in Russia and Spain.