Germany Asks Russia To Check Planes For Radiation

Dmitry Kovtun (file photo) (epa) December 14, 2006 -- Media reports say Germany, which is conducting enquiries linked to the death of the former Russian secret service officer Aleksandr Litvinenko, has asked Russia to check Aeroflot planes that have flown to Hamburg over the past two months.

Two locations in Hamburg visited by a Litvinenko contact have been found to show traces of the radioactive substance polonium-210.


Litvinenko died in London late last month from polonium-210 poisoning.


His contact, Dmitry Kovtun, visited Hamburg before he flew to a meeting with Litvinenko in London.


Kovtun himself is said to have symptoms of radiation poisoning.


(Interfax, AP)

Aleksandr Litvinenko: A Timeline

Aleksandr Litvinenko: A Timeline



CLOAK AND DAGGER: A timeline of a murder case that unraveled after Andrei Litvinenko, a former Russian security officer and vocal Kremlin critic, dies on November 23, 2006, of poisoning by radioactive isotope polonium-210.

In a deathbed letter, Litvinenko blames Russian President Vladimir Putin for his death -- a claim Putin condemns.

Investigators center on two meetings in London that Litvinenko had described -- one in which he met with two Russians for tea in London, and another in which he met with a third Russian at a sushi bar.

Six months later, British prosecutors announce they have enough evidence to charge a Russian citizen -- one of the men who had met with Litvinenko for tea -- with the murder ...more...

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