British Authorities Name Suspect In Spy Poisoning Case
Posted May 22, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
His name was Alexander Litvinenko and the way he died became something out of the pages of a spy novel. Only this one took place in real life. Now British authorities have named a suspect in the dramatic poisoning of the Russian espionage agent. He’s Andrei Lugovoi, officially classified as a Russian businessman but once a member of the KGB.
The story goes back to November 2006, when Litvinenko suddenly became ill with a mysterious ailment. Doctors were stunned when they diagnosed the cause – he’d been contaminated with polonium-210, a deadly substance not available to the general public. Lugovoi was one of the last to be seen with the victim – they’d had dinner together at a London hotel only hours before Litvinenko became gravely ill.
British authorities believe they have enough to make their case and are asking the Russians to extradite the suspect. But Moscow has refused and Lugovoi insists he’s innocent. That does little to placate U.K. lawmen. “Murder is murder, this is a very serious case,” a spokesman for outgoing P.M. Tony Blair makes clear. “The manner of the murder was also very serious because of the risks to public health.” The polonium poisoning set off a series of searches throughout the country to see if others had also been contaminated.
The 43-year-old Litvinenko publicly blamed Russian president Vladimir Putin for his fate as he lay on his deathbed. He’d become a vocal and open critic of the Kremlin and its policies in Chechnya. The Russian government has adamantly denied the charge, and although there’s an existing extradition treaty between the two countries, Russia has refused to turn over subjects to the Brits in previous cases.
Litvinenko Poisoning Timeline
Nov. 1 – Litvinenko meets at a London hotel with another former KGB agent, Andrei Lugovoi, along with Dmitry Kovtun and Vyacheslav Sokolenko. Afterward, he goes to a sushi bar to meet Italian academic Mario Scaramella. He later falls ill and is taken to a London hospital.
Nov. 20 – Litvinenko is moved to intensive care and photos of him looking gaunt in his hospital bed are released. Police say their counterterrorism unit is investigating.
Nov. 23 – Litvinenko dies.
Nov. 24 – A statement dictated by Litvinenko is released blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for his death; Putin’s government denies involvement. Britain’s Health Protection Agency, the HPA, says the rare radioactive element polonium-210 had been found in Litvinenko’s urine. The agency describes the poisoning as “unprecedented” and the government convenes a crisis committee. Police say traces of radiation have been found at a number of sites, including Litvinenko’s north London house, the sushi bar and the hotel.
Nov. 29 – HPA says it will test more than three dozen staff at hospitals that treated Litvinenko for radioactive contamination.
Nov. 30 – Authorities find small traces of radiation aboard two British Airways jetliners.
Dec. 1 – Scaramella tests positive for a significant quantity of polonium-210.
Dec. 4 – Scotland Yard detectives fly to Moscow to interview a number of potential witnesses. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warns persistent suggestions of Russian involvement in the death could hurt relations between London and Moscow.
Dec. 5 – Russia’s chief prosecutor Yuri Chaika says no suspects will be extradited to Britain and all Russian citizens suspected of involvement would be tried in Russia.
Dec. 6 – Scotland Yard announces it is treating the death as murder.
Dec. 7 – Litvinenko is buried in north London cemetery. Seven Millennium Hotel employees test positive for polonium-210.
Dec. 9 – German police say they have found they found traces of radiation at two sites in and near Hamburg linked to Kovtun.
Dec. 11 – Putin spokesman Dmitri Peskov insists it is “unthinkable” the Russian government could be behind any killing.
Jan. 27 – Lugovoi criticizes media reports naming him as a suspect and denies any role in the killing.
Jan. 31 – Scotland Yard says it has sent a file on the case to prosecutors.
March 29 – Scotland Yard meets Russian detectives investigating Litvinenko’s death in London.
April 3 – Litvinenko’s widow, Marina, launches the Litvinenko Justice Foundation to campaign for his killers to be brought to justice. HPA says 17 people have tested positive for polonium-210 contamination at a level which may produce some small long-term health risks. Several hundred people showed minor traces of the element.
May 22 – British prosecutors request the extradition of Lugovoi so he can be charged with Litvinenko’s murder.
