Andrei Lugovoi insists he is not guilty and claims that British intelligence, Russian mafia or self-exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky orchestrated Litvinenko's murder.
Photo: Dmitry Dukhanin
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Talk of Lugovoi Trial in Third Country Speculative – Downing Street
Talk of a trial in a third country for the prime suspect in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko is speculative, UK officials said Sunday, commenting on a report by The Sunday Times. A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s office said Britain was still waiting for a response from Russia over the extradition of Andrei Lugovoi, the RIA Novosti reported.
Andrei Lugovoi, the main suspect in the poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko, could stand trial in a neutral country, The Sunday Times newspaper reported last weekend, saying a compromise plan was being drawn by British officials. Under the proposal, Andrei Lugovoi could face justice in a country other than Britain or Russia in an effort to break the deadlock in talks over his extradition. No specific country is under consideration, according to The Sunday Times.
Officially, Russia is “still considering” a request from British prosecutors to send Andrei Lugovoi for trial in Britain. Russian law prohibits extradition of Russian citizens to other countries.
“The British authorities are still waiting for a response from Russia,” a spokesman for Prime Minister Blair’s office said in response to the report. “Talk of anything else at this stage is speculation."
Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian FSB officer, was taken ill after meeting Andrei Lugovoi and his friends in London last November and died of radioactive poisoning three weeks later.
Andrei Lugovoi insists he is not guilty and claims that British intelligence, Russian mafia or self-exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky orchestrated the murder.
www.kommersant.com
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