Russia Opens Probe Of Lugovoi's Spy Claims

Andrei Lugovoi made his charges at a Moscow press conference on May 31 (AFP) June 15, 2007 -- Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has opened an espionage investigation in connection with claims made by Russian businessman Andrei Lugovoi.

Lugovoi has been named by Britain as a suspect in connection with the poisoning death in November of former Russian security officer Aleksandr Litvinenko.


In May, Lugovoi said Litvinenko's poisoning "could not have happened without the control of the British intelligence services" and alleged that British intelligence had recruited Litvinenko and approached him.


(AFP, AP, Interfax)

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...

MORE: Coverage in Russian from RFE/RL's Russian Service.


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