Litvinenko Poisoning Case to Go to Trial


Alexander Litvinenko, an outspoken opponent of Vladimir
Putin, pictured above, was allegedly poisoned in 2006.  His
case goes to British court this week.
Image: Frederic Legrand - COMEO / Shutterstock.com
The case of Alexander V. Litvinenko may read like a fictional spy thriller, but this Tuesday, it will potentially develop some real-life legal consequences.
 
Litvinenko, a former officer of the Soviet KGB and vocal critic of President Vladimir V. Putin, was poisoned on November 1, 2006 and died twenty-two days later.  Not long after his death, British scientists confirmed that the tea he drank was laced with Polonium 210, a rare isotope manufactured mostly in Russia.
 
From his deathbed, Litvinenko blamed Putin for ordering the poisoning, an accusation Putin has denied.  On Tuesday, a British court will finally begin hearings on the case.
 
Even now, the case remains problematic.  Because British officials have argued that disclosure of some of the testimonies may be a national security risk, much of the case will be addressed in secret, including parts of the judge's final report.
 
Litvinenko's widow has been fighting ever since his death to bring the case to court, relying primarily on pro bono legal aid.  She has met opposition as the change of British government in 2010 led to efforts to reestablish positive ties with Putin and tried to push the Litvinenko affair under the rug.
 
“We had the Litvinenko affair; we imposed the sanctions,” said Anthony Brenton, Britain’s ambassador to Moscow from 2004 to 2008. “The Russians didn’t crumble. Time rolled on, and we have serious other interests in Russia.”

The case has only grown more complex over time.  Days before the start of the inquiry, The Daily Telegraph unearthed an audiotape they say was recorded one year before Litvinenko's death.  The tape connects Putin and a Ukranian crime boss in hiding who is suspected of selling arms to Al Qaeda.
 
Due to constitutional constraints, Russia has refused to extradite Andrei K. Legovoi to Britain to be questioned about murder charges.  Lugovoi and another Russian citizen, Dmitri V. Kovtun, were both present at the Pine Bar in the Millennium Hotel in London when Litvinenko was poisoned, and so are wanted for questioning.  However, they are not only refusing to appear, but have tried to delay the proceedings by providing 1300 pages of documents to bolster their accusation that Litvinenko was actually trying to poison them.

While details of the proceedings are likely to remain somewhat in the shadows, the hearings are the first step toward finding out the truth of what happened and determining how the Russian and British governments will interact in the future.

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