Long-awaited report on ex-Russian spy killing due

PanARMENIAN.Net - The long-awaited findings of a public inquiry into the killing of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko are due to be released by a judge, BBC News reports.

Litvinenko died aged 43 in London in 2006, days after being poisoned with radioactive polonium-210, which he is believed to have drunk in a cup of tea.

Two Russian men, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, have denied killing him. The judge will decide whether to name any culprits and whether any elements in the Russian state were responsible.

The BBC says the real issue for the report is whether the trail leads to the heart of the Russian state and even to President Vladimir Putin himself.

The report may also focus on whether it was specific investigations into links between organized crime and the Kremlin which led to Litvinenko's killing.

Speaking ahead of the inquiry's findings, Litvinenko's son, Anatoly, told the BBC: "You want to find out who was behind the murder, who planned it, who commissioned it. That is why state responsibility is important to us."

The judge, Sir Robert Owen, heard from 62 witnesses in six months of hearings and was shown secret intelligence evidence about Litvinenko and his links with British intelligence agencies.

The former officer in Russia's FSB spy agency had fled to the UK in 2000, claiming persecution, and was granted asylum. He gained British citizenship several years later.

In the years before his death, he had worked as a writer and journalist, becoming a strong critic of the Kremlin.

It is believed he also worked as a consultant for MI6, specializing in Russian organized crime.

A friend said there was personal animosity between Litvinenko and Putin.

"They disliked each other immensely, because Litvinenko complained about corruption… and Putin shelved his report," Alex Goldfarb said. "And Putin considered Litvinenko, after the fact, a traitor for going public with his allegations."

Marina Litvinenko, Alexander's widow, and son Anatoly say the report may be a milestone but might not end their struggle.

"It is important, but it is not necessarily the end", said Litvinenko, while her son said he felt "a sense of duty".

"My father did a hell of a lot to get me to this country to make sure I was safe. I need to respect that and do whatever I can to honor his memory. Finding the truth is the closest we can get to justice for my father," he said.