British police have officially requested assistance from their
Russian counterparts while investigating the poisoning death of a
former KGB agent, and a group of police officers arrived in Moscow
Monday to collect information.
Meanwhile, lawyers for another former security officer, Mikhail
Trepashkin, jailed in central Russia, appealed to the British
officers to collect testimony as soon as possible. They said he
possessed key evidence in the case, but that his life was
threatened.
Alexander Litvinenko, 43, died on November 23 in London after
ingesting radioactive polonium-210. In a deathbed accusation, he
cursed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the poisoning,
accusations the Kremlin has vehemently denied. ?
In a letter from prison, Trepashkin, who is serving a four-year
sentence for revealing state secrets, wrote he had warned
Litvinenko several years ago about a government-sponsored death
squad that were targeting him and other Kremlin opponents.
His supporters demanded Monday that Trepashkin be allowed to
testify to the British police officers, saying he was not receiving
adequate treatment for asthma in prison. "His life is in danger and
he may die any night of asthma," said his lawyer Yelena
Liptser.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Monday that
continued suggestions of Russian official involvement in
Litvinenko's death could damage relations with Britain.
Lavrov said he had spoken with British Foreign Secretary
Margaret Beckett "about the necessity to avoid any kind of
politicization of this matter, this tragedy," the RIA-Novosti news
agency reported.
"If the British have questions, then they should be sent via the
law enforcement agencies between which there are contacts," he
said.
Russia's Prosecutor-General's office released a statement
agreeing to help Scotland Yard officers in the investigation. A
Foreign Ministry spokesman said Russia has issued visas for the
team.
British Home Secretary John Reid, speaking during a trip to
Brussels Monday, said police had left for Moscow. This was
confirmed when British law enforcement authorities revealed a team
of nine officers were to travel to Moscow.
(China Daily December 5, 2006)
