European court rules Russia was behind Litvinenko killing
Alexander Litvinenko, an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin who fled Russia, was poisoned in London in 2006.
Alexander Litvinenko, then an officer of Russia's
state security service FSB, attends a news conference in Moscow in this
November 17, 1998 (photo credit: REUTERS FILE PHOTOS)
The European Court of Human Rights
ruled on Tuesday that Russia was responsible for the 2006 killing of
ex-KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko who died an agonizing death after he
was poisoned in London with Polonium 210, a rare radioactive isotope.
Kremlin
critic Litvinenko, 43, died weeks after drinking green tea laced with
polonium-210 at London’s plush Millennium hotel in an attack Britain has
long blamed on Moscow.
In its ruling, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) concluded Russia was responsible for the killing.
"It found that Mr. Litvinenko’s assassination was imputable to Russia," its statement said.
The Kremlin on Tuesday rejected the "unsubstantiated" ruling by the European Court of Human Rights,
"The
ECHR hardly has the authority or technological capacity to possess
information on the matter. There are still no results from this
investigation and making such claims is at the very least
unsubstantiated," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Russia has always denied any involvement in Litvinenko's death which plunged Anglo-Russian relations to a post-Cold War low.
A lengthy British inquiry concluded in 2016 that Russian President Vladimir Putin probably approved a Russian intelligence operation to murder Litvinenko.
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| The grave of murdered ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko is seen at Highgate Cemetery in London, Britain, January 21, 2016. (credit: REUTERS/TOBY MELVILLE) |
It also found that former KGB bodyguard Andrei Lugovoy and another
Russian, Dmitry Kovtun, carried out the killing as part of an operation
probably directed by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the main
successor to the Soviet-era KGB.
The ECHR agreed. Both men have always denied involvement.
Andrei
Lugovoy told Reuters on Tuesday that a European court ruling which
found Russia responsible for the 2006 killing was politically motivated.
"I
think this decision is absolutely politically motivated," Lugovoy told
Reuters in an audio message shared by his assistant. "I am very
skeptical about it. I think it is extremely idiotic and damaging to the
reputation of the European Court of Human Rights."
"The
court found it established, beyond reasonable doubt, that the
assassination had been carried out by Mr. Lugovoy and Mr. Kovtun," the
ruling said.
"The
planned and complex operation involving the procurement of a rare deadly
poison, the travel arrangements for the pair, and repeated and
sustained attempts to administer the poison indicated that Mr.
Litvinenko had been the target of the operation."
It too concluded that the Russian state was to blame and that had
the men been carrying out a "rogue operation," Moscow would have the
information to prove that theory.
"However,
the government had made no serious attempt to provide such information
or to counter the findings of the UK authorities," the ruling said.
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