It’s a plot straight from a Bond thriller. Except this time, a British judge says it’s probably real.
According to Judge Robert Owen, Russian President Vladimir Putin probably approved the plan by Russia’s FSB security service to kill a former agent-turned-Kremlin critic who died after drinking tea laced with radioactive poison, according to a strongly worded report released Thursday.
The accusation led Moscow to accuse Britain of souring bilateral relations.
Owen, who led a public inquiry into the 2006 killing of Alexander Litvinenko, said he was certain that two Russian men had given Litvinenko tea containing a fatal dose of radioactive polonium-210 during a meeting at a London hotel in November 2006.
Litvinenko died a grisly death three weeks later from acute radiation syndrome, a gruesome way to die.
He said there was a “strong probability” that Russia’s FSB, successor to the Soviet Union’s KGB spy agency, directed the killing and that the operation was “probably approved” by Putin, then as now the president of Russia.
On his deathbed, Litvinenko accused Putin of ordering his killing, but this is the first public official statement linking the Russian president to the crime.
The statement sent a chilling jolt through U.K.-Russia relations. Britain summoned the Russian ambassador for a dressing-down Thursday and imposed an asset freeze on the two main Russian suspects: Andrei Lugovoi, now a Russian lawmaker, and Dmitry Kovtun.
Litvinenko, a former FSB agent, fled to Britain in 2000 and became a vocal critic of Russia’s security service and of Putin, whom he accused of links to organized crime.
Owen said Litvinenko “was regarded as having betrayed the FSB” with his actions, and said “there were powerful motives for organizations and individuals within the Russian state to take action against Mr. Litvinenko, including killing him.”
Marina Litvinenko, the spy’s widow, said outside the court that she was “very pleased that the words my husband spoke on his deathbed when he accused Mr. Putin have been proved by an English court.”
She also called for tougher action, urging British Prime Minister David Cameron to expel Russian intelligence agents operating in Britain and impose economic sanctions and travel bans on Putin and other officials linked to what her lawyer, Ben Emmerson, called “a mini-act of nuclear terrorism on the streets of London.”
“It’s unthinkable that the prime minister would do nothing in the face of the damning findings,” Marina Litvinenko told reporters.
British Home Secretary Theresa May said the involvement of the Russian state was “a blatant and unacceptable breach of the most fundamental tenets of international law and civilized behavior” — but not a surprise. She announced asset freezes against suspects Lugovoi and Kovtun and said Interpol had issued notices calling for their arrest if they traveled abroad. Russia refuses to extradite the two men.
Lugovoi is now a member of the Russian parliament, which means he is immune from prosecution in his country.
U.K.-Russian relations have remained chilly since the killing of Litvinenko, who was granted British citizenship shortly before his death.
The British government in 2014 appointed Owen to head a public inquiry into the slaying. He heard from dozens of witnesses during months of public hearings last year and also saw secret British intelligence evidence.
Announcing his findings at London’s Royal Courts of Justice, Owen said “there can be no doubt that Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned by Mr. Lugovoi and Mr. Kovtun” in the Pine Bar of London’s luxury Millennium Hotel on Nov. 1, 2006. He died a grisly death three weeks later.
In his 326-page report, Owen said based on the evidence he had seen, the operation to kill Litvinenko was “probably” approved by then-FSB head Nikolai Patrushev, now head of Putin’s security council, and by Putin.
The judge laid out the overwhelming scientific evidence against Lugovoi and Kovtun, including a trail of radiation that stretched from the hotel teapot to the sink in Kovtun’s room and even the Emirates stadium, where Lugovoi attended a soccer game.
He said the case for Russian state involvement was circumstantial but strong. Owen said Litvinenko had “personally targeted President Putin himself with highly personal public criticism,” allied himself with Putin’s opponents and was believed to be working for British intelligence.
Litvinenko had said he was working for British intelligence, though British authorities have never confirmed it.
Owen said the method of killing, with radioactive poison, fit with the deaths of several other opponents of Putin and his government, and noted that Putin had “supported and protected” Lugovoi since the killing, even awarding him a medal for services to the nation.
While there was no direct proof, Owen said it was “likely” the FSB chief would have sought Putin’s approval for an operation to kill Litvinenko.
The Associated Press contributed to this article
LMAO.We know that the British eqivalent of the CIA would never lie for propaganda purposes.
Innocent until proven guilty…..There is no proof against Putin.
That,s in an American court of law dumbass, you must be a progressive commie bastard just like your hero Putin
SO What ? Bud W. It is Supposed to be…That You are Innocent Until Proven You Are Guilty ! The Widow Would Naturally.. say whatever She Was Told TO SAY ? How does anyone know that this was not the case ? G.Br. Would Concoct up Any sort of Story About Anything .. Against “”Putin” , if they thought it might could serve Them any Purpose. WE all Know This. And Gee ! What NEXT will This ‘ Place’ Try out Against Putin ?? He is Not a man with Tiny intelligence…. Like SOME folks Obviously ARE. In the first Place…Why this Concoction of a Story At THIS So Late Point in Time… ?? OMG !!
His entire career is the proof. It may never make it to the court (few despots ended there) but one has to be both, blind and death not to see it.
Interesting the Brits will demand removal of the Russians when the most popular name for boys in their country is mOhammad.
I am sure the Russians killed the guy.
I don’t doubt it ,you can not trust Putin or Obama or Clinton ,they are capable of any crime ,they have proved that already ,but they get away with it ,we would be in Prison ,but those Criminals are given special treatments from the Law of the Land ,that is the truth ,
What is going one,the headlines ,indicating broadly the Russians are guilty,!! like always in the western Press,bud you never see announced in big head lines,how many children,Bush and his gangsters killed,in Iraq,or Afghanisdan,and Syria,and Vietnam. should I go one ,or need to lay out some more,This guy play around on both sites,he deserves,what he got,a spies Live,!!!end of fact, (Probably)what a conviction..
If he was a agent for the west and a trader to his country then this is nothing new. If a person in the west became a trader and risked national security we would kill them. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander
Tell that to Eric Snowden , he,s still breathing isn,t he, Obama is,a traitor to, so is hillary, John dope Kerry all still breathing, all still conspiring against America. Hang them all
So true.
And these NWO types love the fact that Putin a long with the rest of the BRICS group are doing everything they can to throw the NWO under a bus! Now why would the British, finance center for the NWO what to make Putin look bad? One is more “likely” to think the NWO is trying to discredit the only person that’s responsible for stopping the start of WWIII!
Wake up drone, what an idiot
It’s a dangerous world,you play with fire. You eventually get burned, or consumed.——-!!
Brillient, your thought process has you to come up with slogan as a responds? This is another example of the dumbing down of the American people as a whole.
Putin. In time will die as he has killed others and ordered their death by the hands of his gov.there is no loyalty within .
The thought of President Putin ordering the murder of a former Russian agent doesn’t surprise me at all. If this guy had valued his life he should have changed his name and disappeared from sight. The last thing any nation wants is for someone with knowledge of their nation’s intelligence program to change sides. I’m surprised Edward Snowden hasn’t been taken out. He seems to know a lot about our nation’s intelligence gathering capabilities. As he has told what he knows, other nations have likely changed their practices to deprive the U.S. of valuable information.
Putin accused or murder? HMMM, How about Barack and Hillary?
You know, Hotnike, I had the very same thoughts on the matter. LOL!! Wouldn’t that take the cake? All three could easily fit into that category.
WHAT the HEY! If this side switcher was so important to UK why wasn’t he given name change,plastic surgery etc,,,,,,AND what the hell was he chit chatting with those guys from umm the death squad anyhow! In my opinion UK was doing a shabby job of protecting a jumper who was important to them. ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE,,,,,,,,AND WAR ????
It is sickening to see people admiring Putin when there is nothing there to admire at all. The man is as cold as a block of ice.
Hopefully more Americans will study what a nuclear EMP is and read their Bibles. Revelation 17,18.
Mr. Putin is not an American problem at this time. He is the head of State of a very large and powerful country and shows obvious dislike of our current and illegal “President.” He is what he is but he is not ours. He has pride in his country and culture.
We have enough of our own murderers in political power to occupy our Congress who appear to be unwilling to impeach and convict the Seditionist in Chief, (can’t be a Traitor if not an American citizen!), and investigate all other Traitors, Seditionists and terrorists. Hail the late Joe McCarthy who was on the right track until stopped by the Commie infiltrators in the Federal government.
Praise to the real Thomas Jefferson who wrote about the Tree of Liberty needing to be watered often by the blood of patriots and traitors. He also wrote of the duty of every loyal American to remove tyranny from our government.