Russian President Vladimir Putin "probably" approved the assassination of
Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006, a public
inquiry has found.
Litvinenko, a former KGB agent who left Russia and claimed asylum in the UK in 2000, died in November 2006 aged 43 after drinking tea laced with radioactive polonium in a hotel.
Police concluded the fatal dose was probably consumed during a meeting with Dmitri Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi, who were identified as prime suspects. Attempts to extradite the pair, who both deny involvement, have failed
Chairman Sir Robert Owen's report was published in Parliament on Thursday, just under a year after the probe's public opening.
His widow Marina Litvinenko said she "very pleased the words my husband spoke on his deathbed when he accused Mr Putin have been proven".
She
added: "I'm also calling for the imposing of targeted economic
sanctions and travel bans against named individuals ... including Mr
Putin.
"I received a letter last night from the home secretary promising action."
The conclusion the Russian state was likely involved in the killing means all eyes are now focused on how the UK government will respond.
British Home Secretary Theresa May said the Litvinenko murder was a "blatant and unacceptable breach of the most fundamental tenants of international law and civilized behavior".
However she told MPs the "deeply disturbing" involvement of the Russian state "does not come as a surprise".
Litvinenko, a former KGB agent who left Russia and claimed asylum in the UK in 2000, died in November 2006 aged 43 after drinking tea laced with radioactive polonium in a hotel.
Police concluded the fatal dose was probably consumed during a meeting with Dmitri Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi, who were identified as prime suspects. Attempts to extradite the pair, who both deny involvement, have failed
Chairman Sir Robert Owen's report was published in Parliament on Thursday, just under a year after the probe's public opening.
His widow Marina Litvinenko said she "very pleased the words my husband spoke on his deathbed when he accused Mr Putin have been proven".
The conclusion the Russian state was likely involved in the killing means all eyes are now focused on how the UK government will respond.
British Home Secretary Theresa May said the Litvinenko murder was a "blatant and unacceptable breach of the most fundamental tenants of international law and civilized behavior".
However she told MPs the "deeply disturbing" involvement of the Russian state "does not come as a surprise".
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