Ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of his murder from beyond the grave on Friday, in a statement read out the morning after he died of an unknown poison in a London hospital.
”You may succeed in silencing one man. But a howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life. May God forgive you for what you have done,” Litvinenko said in a statement read out by friends.
”You may succeed in silencing me, but that silence comes at a price. You have shown yourself to be as barbaric and ruthless as your most hostile critics claim,” his statement said.
The Kremlin had shrugged off the accusations as nonsense and the Russian spy service had denied killing the ex-agent.
”The death of a person is always a tragedy. At this time it is a matter for investigation into what happened by the law enforcement agencies in Britain,” deputy Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
But the allegation Putin sent secret agents to murder a man in Britain for the first time since the Cold War cast a shadow over the Russian leader’s appearance at an EU summit.
A member of the Russian delegation at the summit in Helsinki said before Litvinenko died: ”The man was poisoned. But the accusations towards the Kremlin are so unbelievable, they are too silly to be commented on by the president or anyone from the Russian side.”
European leaders have so far held their fire. Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, whose country holds the EU presidency, expressed sympathy to Litvinenko’s family but declined to say whether he would bring up the death with Putin.
”We don’t actually know very much about it, and we need this. And the UK authorities will of course investigate what has happened,” he said before welcoming Putin to the summit.
Contact comes forward
Another former Russian spy came forward in Moscow to acknowledge that he had met Litvinenko at a London hotel with two other Russians the day he suddenly fell ill. The man, Andrei Lugovoy, told a Russian newspaper they had discussed ”business”.
He met Britain’s deputy ambassador in Moscow on Thursday and said he would answer any questions from police about the affair. The embassy gave no details about the conversation.
Litvinenko died on Thursday after losing his hair and suffering organ failure. He had received British citizenship last month and was one of a group of Putin opponents who have clustered in London, including billionaire Boris Berezovsky and Chechen separatists, often drawing Moscow’s anger and scorn.
”My son died yesterday. He was killed by a little tiny nuclear bomb. It was so little, so small that you couldn’t see it,” his weeping father Walter Litvinenko said outside the hospital where he died.
”This regime is a murderous danger to the world … If we just let it go, if we go about our daily business as usual, this regime will get at all of us.”
One doctor said the type of poison used may never be known. Medical experts have ruled out earlier suggestions that it was a heavy metal such as thallium or a radioactive substance.
The diplomatic consequences of the affair are hard to predict. European countries depend on Putin’s Russia for natural gas and have big investments in oil companies there. Putin has been an ally of the West against Islamic extremism since the September 11 2001 attacks on the United States.
But relations have been strained in recent years over what Western governments call Moscow’s slide toward authoritarianism.
Litvinenko, who fled to Britain in 2000 with his wife and son and was granted asylum, said he fell ill after meeting Russians at a hotel. He had been investigating the killing of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, also a critic of Putin, who was gunned down at her Moscow flat on October 7.
In 1998, he turned on his former comrades in Russia’s secret services and said they had planned to murder Berezovsky.
Litvinenko co-wrote a 2002 book Blowing up Russia: Terror from Within, alleging FSB agents coordinated apartment block bombings in Russia that killed more than 300 people in 1999. Russian officials blamed the bombings on Chechen guerrillas. – Reuters
Litvinenko’s letter
”I would like to thank many people. My doctors, nurses and hospital staff who are doing all they can for me; the British Police who are pursuing my case with vigour and professionalism and are watching over me and my family. I would like to thank the British Government for taking me under their care. I am honoured to be a British citizen.
”I would like to thank the British public for their messages of support and for the interest they have shown in my plight.
”I thank my wife, Marina, who has stood by me. My love for her and our son knows no bounds.
”But as I lie here I can distinctly hear the beating of wings of the angel of death. I may be able to give him the slip but I have to say my legs do not run as fast as I would like. I think, therefore, that this may be the time to say one or two things to the person responsible for my present condition.
”You may succeed in silencing me but that silence comes at a price. You have shown yourself to be as barbaric and ruthless as your most hostile critics have claimed.
”You have shown yourself to have no respect for life, liberty or any civilised value.
”You have shown yourself to be unworthy of your office, to be unworthy of the trust of civilised men and women.
”You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life. May God forgive you for what you have done, not only to me but to beloved Russia and its people.”