Posted on 11/28/2006 6:00:28 AM PST by GarySpFc
LONDON, November 28 (RIA Novosti) - British police said Tuesday they had found traces of a radioactive isotope believed to have killed a Russian ex-spy, in an office building of his associate, fugitive Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky.
Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian intelligence defector, died Thursday in a London hospital with symptoms of radioactive poisoning. British health officials said Friday a large dose of Po-210, a toxic uranium by-product, had been found in his body.
Berezovsky, a billionaire with British citizenship wanted in Russia for fraud, whose office is located at 7 Down Street, Mayfair, declined to comment on the radiation discovery.
"I will make no comments until Scotland Yard finishes its investigation. Let others comment, I will wait," he said over the phone.
The businessman also declined to say whether he had been questioned by police.
Litvinenko, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, who defected from Russia's security service in 2000 and became a British national in October, reportedly visited the building to make a copy of documents he had received from an Italian contact, Mario Scaramella, on November 1.
Litvinenko said Scaramella had sent him an e-mail relating to an investigation into the killing of his friend, investigative journalist and Kremlin opponent Anna Politkovskaya, who was gunned down in Moscow in October.
Polonium-210 radiation traces have also been discovered at 25 Grosvenor Square, about 400 yards from Millenium Hotel where Litvinenko met with his Russian contacts on November 1.
Nikolai Kovalev, former head of the KGB's successor, the FSB, said the discovery of polonium in Berezovsky's office could imply his involvement in Litvinenko's death.
"Boris Berezovsky's involvement has been further proved," Kovalev said, adding that Berezovsky and Litvinenko could have been preparing an operation using polonium.
After Litvinenko died, the Western press circulated a statement allegedly written by him, in which Litvinenko accused the Kremlin of orchestrating his death.
"The ultimate target of the operation could have been to promote KGB phobia, and to show that Russia is ruled by KGB people," said Kovalev, also a member of parliament.
Kovalev said Berezovsky, if he is involved in the incident, had already taken care of his alibi and would now accuse special services of trying to kill him.
"He is keeping silent, which means he is preparing for a news conference where he will say he had expected polonium traces to be found in his office, and will start saying on all corners that the special services tried to kill him," Kovalev said.
Kovalev said Litvinenko could have neglected safety rules in handling a polonium container.
"The container was handed over to Litvinenko, but the curious young man got into it or did something wrong, contrary to Berezovsky's scenario," he said.
Another possibility, he said, could be that Berezovsky deliberately poisoned Litvinenko.
"I do not rule it out that there was some plan aimed against Litvinenko," Kovalev said. "Perhaps, Boris Abramovich [Berezovsky's patronymic] wanted to kill several birds with one stone."
I don't believe you.
Which part?
By the way I don't believe a former "Special Forces" guy could be such a lick spittle for Putin and his KGB mafia. Unless of course you were Spetznaz.....
Go take your insults and hate elsewhere. You might want to schedule a visit with your psychologist.
I repeat, what part don't you beleive? That I'm an experienced
ER physician with decades of treating GSW's? or the specific areas of the country I've practiced?
You sure are touchy for a big strong SF guy....
BTW, even if by some miracle a .380 ACP or Makarov 9X18 round shot through a silencer did pass through the skull, almost all of the energy would be spent, and the exit wound would be small.
Now let me get this straight. You, in your experience as a weapons expert doubt a 9mm makarov round, fired at point blank range would have trouble penetrating the skull? I suppose when the NKVD gave the noodle they also pistol whipped the poor guys whenm the round bounced off.
Guess what the favorite assasin weapon of the mob is? It's a 22 cal fired with a silencer at point blank. They penetrate with no problem. The REASON they use that cal is because unlike larger calibers they DO tend to stay put in the head and just kind of bounce around inside.
Just what is your practical experience here eh? How many real no shit gun shot wounds have you seen? Like I said I've seen hundreds.
Cui Bono? Not Putin.
Many want to see this as the return of SMERSH.
For my money, I'd bet some of the RobberOligarchs hiding their illgotten gains in London are the prime suspects.
ping for further reading
Putin is a Communist soviet premier with an image team and a makeover.
Gary, ruffling more feathers again, are we?
And the credibility of a report from the "Russian News and Information Agency", regarding an incident that makes the Russian govt look bad, is?
If he was an "associate" of Berezovsky, why would it be strange to find traces in Berezovsky's building? I would assume that associates associate every once in a while
Contrary to what you have heard the media in Russia is really open, and Putin is frequently criticized on it. Funny, but we never hear about the BBC being state controlled.
That person's view is interesting. I missed this the first time 'round.
From NRO:
"Exporting a Tradition
Vladimir Putin appears to be only the latest in the long line of Russian tsars who have upheld the tradition of assassinating anyone who stood in their way. The practice goes back at least as far as the XIVth century’s Ivan the Terrible, who killed thousands of boyars and other people, including Metropolitan Philip and Prince Alexander Gorbatyl-Shuisky for having refused to swear an oath of allegiance to his eldest son, an infant at the time. Peter the Great unleashed his political police against everybody who spoke out against him, from his own wife, to drunks who told jokes about his rule; he even had the political police lure his own son and heir, the tsarevich Aleksey, back to Russia from abroad and torture him to death. "
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.