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In Photos: The Case Of Aleksandr Litvinenko, The Poisoned Kremlin Critic

Former Russian security agent-turned-Kremlin critic Aleksandr Litvinenko died in London on November 23, 2006, after being poisoned with highly radioactive polonium-210. He had fled to Britain in 2000 after publicly accusing the Federal Security Service (FSB) of plotting to kill oligarch Boris Berezovsky. He later co-authored a book blaming the FSB for the 1999 apartment bombings.

The British investigation found Litvinenko drank tea laced with polonium during a meeting in a London hotel several weeks earlier with two Russians, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun. Moscow has refused to extradite them. In January 2017, the United States blacklisted both under the Magnitsky Act.

In a ruling issued on September 21, 2021, the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights said it had established "beyond reasonable doubt" that the killing had been carried out by Lugovoi and Kovtun, and that "there was a strong prima facie case that, in poisoning Mr. Litvinenko, Mr. Lugovoi and Mr. Kovtun had been acting as agents of the Russian state."

Here's a look at the Litvinenko case in photos.

(Originally published September 21, 2021)
A picture of former Russian security agent Aleksandr Litvinenko is pinned to flowers outside University College Hospital in central London on November 23, 2007. Litvinenko, 43, fell ill on November 1, 2006, after he drank tea that was poisoned with polonium-210, a rare, highly radioactive isotope. He died on November 23, 2006, in the hospital.
1 A picture of former Russian security agent Aleksandr Litvinenko is pinned to flowers outside University College Hospital in central London on November 23, 2007.

Litvinenko, 43, fell ill on November 1, 2006, after he drank tea that was poisoned with polonium-210, a rare, highly radioactive isotope. He died on November 23, 2006, in the hospital.
Journalists prepare microphones for a press conference by officers of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) at the Interfax news agency in Moscow on November 17, 1998. Former agent Mikhail Trepashkin (seated left), a colleague wearing a mask to protect his identity (center), and Litvinenko (right) accused their FSB commanding officers of ordering kidnappings and assassinations, including an attempt to kill billionaire businessman and power broker Boris Berezovsky. 
2 Journalists prepare microphones for a press conference by officers of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) at the Interfax news agency in Moscow on November 17, 1998. Former agent Mikhail Trepashkin (seated left), a colleague wearing a mask to protect his identity (center), and Litvinenko (right) accused their FSB commanding officers of ordering kidnappings and assassinations, including an attempt to kill billionaire businessman and power broker Boris Berezovsky. 
Litvinenko poses with his book, Blowing Up Russia: Terror From Within, at his home in London in May 2002. In the book, he accused the Russian secret services of staging the Russian apartment bombings in 1999 and other acts of terrorism in an effort to bring Vladimir Putin to power.  Litvinenko fled Russia in 1999 after revealing an alleged plan by the FSB to kill tycoon Boris Berezovsky.   
3 Litvinenko poses with his book, Blowing Up Russia: Terror From Within, at his home in London in May 2002. In the book, he accused the Russian secret services of staging the Russian apartment bombings in 1999 and other acts of terrorism in an effort to bring Vladimir Putin to power. 

Litvinenko fled Russia in 1999 after revealing an alleged plan by the FSB to kill tycoon Boris Berezovsky. 


 
Litvinenko (right) is pictured outside Britain's House of Lords on September 14, 2004, after a press conference calling for international help to resolve the Chechnya conflict. He joined (left to right) filmmaker Andrei Nekrasov; actress and human rights campaigner Vanessa Redgrave; Akhmed Zakayev, a leading Chechen separatist granted asylum in Britain; and Lord Rea, a friend of Litvinenko and director of the Save Chechnya campaign.  
4 Litvinenko (right) is pictured outside Britain's House of Lords on September 14, 2004, after a press conference calling for international help to resolve the Chechnya conflict. He joined (left to right) filmmaker Andrei Nekrasov; actress and human rights campaigner Vanessa Redgrave; Akhmed Zakayev, a leading Chechen separatist granted asylum in Britain; and Lord Rea, a friend of Litvinenko and director of the Save Chechnya campaign.

 
Police cordons are erected outside Litvinenko's home in north London on November 27, 2006, after his death.
5 Police cordons are erected outside Litvinenko's home in north London on November 27, 2006, after his death.
Alex Goldfarb (left), a close friend of Litvinenko's, is interviewed by the media as he arrives at University College Hospital in central London on November 20, 2006. Litvinenko dictated a statement two days before his death, which was read out by Goldfarb.
6 Alex Goldfarb (left), a close friend of Litvinenko's, is interviewed by the media as he arrives at University College Hospital in central London on November 20, 2006. Litvinenko dictated a statement two days before his death, which was read out by Goldfarb.
Litvinenko's casket is prepared for burial at Highgate Cemetery in north London on December 7, 2006. 
7 Litvinenko's casket is prepared for burial at Highgate Cemetery in north London on December 7, 2006. 
Litvinenko's father, Walter, arrives at Regents Park Mosque on December 7, 2006. Family and friends paid their respects to the former Russian agent during a memorial at the London mosque two weeks after his death.
8 Litvinenko's father, Walter, arrives at Regents Park Mosque on December 7, 2006. Family and friends paid their respects to the former Russian agent during a memorial at the London mosque two weeks after his death.
Copies of Death Of A Dissident by Alex Goldfarb and Marina Litvinenko are displayed at a press conference to launch the book at the Foreign Press Association in London on June 19, 2007. During the press conference, Litvinenko​'s widow spoke of her health concerns and the ongoing case to find the person who poisoned her husband. 
9 Copies of Death Of A Dissident by Alex Goldfarb and Marina Litvinenko are displayed at a press conference to launch the book at the Foreign Press Association in London on June 19, 2007. During the press conference, Litvinenko​'s widow spoke of her health concerns and the ongoing case to find the person who poisoned her husband. 
Andrei Lugovoi (left), a former KGB officer, and his associate Dmitry Kovtun, attend a news conference in Moscow on November 1, 2007. A British inquiry concluded in 2016 that Russian President Vladimir Putin probably approved an intelligence operation to kill Litvinenko. It identified Lugovoi, now a Russian lawmaker, and Kovtun as the primary suspects.   
10 Andrei Lugovoi (left), a former KGB officer, and his associate Dmitry Kovtun, attend a news conference in Moscow on November 1, 2007. A British inquiry concluded in 2016 that Russian President Vladimir Putin probably approved an intelligence operation to kill Litvinenko. It identified Lugovoi, now a Russian lawmaker, and Kovtun as the primary suspects. 

 
Marina Litvinenko (right) and Russian director Andrei Nekrasov attend the screening of the film Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case in Madrid on December 20, 2007.
11 Marina Litvinenko (right) and Russian director Andrei Nekrasov attend the screening of the film Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case in Madrid on December 20, 2007.
Women hold a poster of Litvinenko and light candles during a Moscow memorial on November 22, 2008. 
12 Women hold a poster of Litvinenko and light candles during a Moscow memorial on November 22, 2008. 
Marina Litvinenko speaks to the media as she leaves the High Court in London on July 12, 2013, amid calls for a public inquiry into her husband's death.
13 Marina Litvinenko speaks to the media as she leaves the High Court in London on July 12, 2013, amid calls for a public inquiry into her husband's death.
London's Millennium Hotel, where Litvinenko was allegedly poisoned. An inquiry into the radiation poisoning of the former Russian agent opened on January 27, 2015.
14 London's Millennium Hotel, where Litvinenko was allegedly poisoned. An inquiry into the radiation poisoning of the former Russian agent opened on January 27, 2015.
Marina Litvinenko makes a statement outside the High Court in central London on January 21, 2016, after findings from a public inquiry into the killing of her husband were released by a British judge.
15 Marina Litvinenko makes a statement outside the High Court in central London on January 21, 2016, after findings from a public inquiry into the killing of her husband were released by a British judge.
Adrian Dwyer portrays Litvinenko in the British performance of The Life And Death Of Aleksandr Litvinenko at the Grange Park Opera in Surrey on February 2020.
16 Adrian Dwyer portrays Litvinenko in the British performance of The Life And Death Of Aleksandr Litvinenko at the Grange Park Opera in Surrey on February 2020.
A photograph sits beside Aleksandr Litvinenko's gravestone in Highgate Cemetery in North London.
17 A photograph sits beside Aleksandr Litvinenko's gravestone in Highgate Cemetery in North London.
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