In 2006, former Russian KGB agent, Alexander Litvinenko, died suddenly
in a London hospital from radiation poisoning.
Eight years later, a public inquiry is finally
investigating his mysterious death.
So what has the inquiry revealed so far about Litvinenko’s
death and who are the prime suspects?
On November 1st, 2006, Litvinenko had two meetings.
The first was with former KGB agent -
Andrei Lugovoi and his colleague, Dmitry Kovtun The second, with Italian academic, Mario Scaramella.
That same night, Mr. Litvinenko was rushed to the hospital after becoming violently ill.
Over
the next few days, his health deteriorated rapidly and on November 23rd, Litvinenko died.
Police
treat the death as suspicious.
An autopsy shows that Litvinenko had been poisoned with Polonium-210, a radioactive
isotope so potent that just one gram could potentially kill 50 million people.
The pathologist
describes the postmortem as “one of the most dangerous ever undertaken in the Western
world.”
In a statement written from his deathbed, Litvinenko accuses Russian President Vladimir
Putin of being involved in his assassination.
It’s later revealed that Litvinenko may have been
killed because he was investigating Putin’s links to organized crime.
Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun are prime suspects early
on in the investigation.
Both men test positive for radiation poisoning, but police are unable to
question them as they have returned to Russia and a request for their extradition is denied.
An inquiry into Litvinenko’s death is delayed to avoid a diplomatic meltdown between the
UK and Russia, but in January 2015, a UK public inquiry finally begins.
Lugovoi and Kovtun are
notably absent.
At the hearing, it’s revealed that Litvinenko was poisoned not once, but twice.
Evidence
suggests that Lugovoi and Kovtun poisoned Litvinenko at a meeting in October and then
once
again in his tea two weeks later.
A lawyer representing Litvinenko’s wife also reveals the pair left a radioactive trail.
Traces of
the poison was found on their flights, hotel rooms and locations all around London that
Lugovoi
and Kovtun visited during their trip to meet Litvinenko.
There are other suspects in the investigation but the evidence seems to point to
Lugovoi and Kovtun.
And what about Putin’s involvement?
Let us know what you think in
the comments below and don’t forget to subscribe to watch more updates into the Litvinenko
inquiry.