FSB was behind Litvinenko killing , probably approved by Putin Report says

a reply to: Rosinitiate

I'd suspect same goes for MI5 and their spy found dead stuffed in a duffel bag

hey hey now...that was an accident if I remember the report correctly. No fowl play....

a reply to: theultimatebelgianjoke

He wasn't a double agent , he worked for Russian intelligence then defected and worked for MI6.
He was a critic of Putin and the corruption within the Russian system , that earned him the honour of having his face used for target practice but I doubt was enough to warrant his assassination.

a reply to: gortex

I guess that anybody who defects under such circumstances is an idiot not to consider that he may face a similar fate. And not just because this involves Russia.
Spies are not average citizens.

originally posted by: gortex...
that earned him the honour of having his face used for target practice but I doubt was enough to warrant his assassination.

Clearly it was because according to the Inquiry, he was assassinated.

originally posted by: Vector99
Something is up in Russia, and I don't think it is their economy.

Now that article is more explosive than a politically timed investigation into a murder of a double agent over a decade ago. Maybe needs its own thread.

It's certainly enough to raise an eyebrow from even the most hardened Putin supporter. Curious to see where that goes. Thanks for sharing.

a reply to: Rosinitiate

No prob, I'm a bit tired tonight or I would have made that thread. This whole Iran deal and flooding the oversaturated market as a FU to Saudi and Russia at the same time is just...a bit much to think about.

a reply to: paraphi

Yes an inquiry held in Britain, by British higher ups, behind closed doors due to BS about top secret information.

Not going to be a biased inquiry at all now is it ?

a reply to: Discotech

I guess it's just a coincidence that Litvinenko was poisoned by polonium and the only country that produces large quantities of polonium is Russia. The only country that stood to gain from Litvinenko's death was Russia.

a reply to: Vector99

Thanks that's really intresting news, I ended up missing this.

About this report, the investigation wasn't able to do anything and it's legally useless.
However it is very important from a political pov, because "legally" this isn't particularly different from Obama killing targets with drones outside the USA, but as a nation you don't go around accusing other world leaders of such things, and in case it leaks you bury the news in the sand. This basically says that the UK is in semi-state of war with Russia, since diplomatic ties will just go out of the window.

Tass, another voice of the russian gov, is reporting this

"The actions of the British side," Zakharova said, "create a dangerous precedent of using internal legal mechanisms for a politically biased and non-transparent investigation with results determined beforehand, fully replacing by that objective court proceedings and making just an ordered politicized farce out of a normal court process."
Source

Imho the news is not that Putin ordered or approved the killing of Litvinenko (which I think HE DID just to be clear), but that Britain decided to let something like this slip out without the slight legally useable proof. This tells quite a lot of the stance of the UK towards a normalization of the relations between Russia and European countries and I'm wondering if this is part of some pro-brexit campaign or if this is the first step in a sudden escalation of the Ukraine conflict.

So in other words they have no idea who it was.

a reply to: Xcalibur254

Still, it doesn't prove that Russia's government was involved

Not that they weren't involved it's pretty obvious BUT this inquiry was nothing more than an excuse to make a political cold war style statement to Russia

originally posted by: Discotech
Yes an inquiry held in Britain, by British higher ups, behind closed doors due to BS about top secret information.

Not going to be a biased inquiry at all now is it ?

Most of the Inquiry was public, which if you actually looked into this you would see. The private evidence, is detailed and reasons given e.g. national security. Why compromise the identity of sources. I am sure the Russian authorities could corroborate, eh?

The fact is that there has been due process with an hefty and sourced report produced detailing the events, and the evidence, and the logic that has enabled such a conclusion.

The British judiciary is independent, so no, why should the conclusions be bias? Go on. Read the report.

originally posted by: paraphi
The British judiciary is independent.

If you knew anything the British judiciary system which is under rule of the Crown then you'd know it's far from independent and easily influence when it comes to political matters, you only have to look at the inquest into Princess Diana's death to see that.

As for you saying it was mostly public, you're right it was but the key evidence, was in the evidence held back from the public and the Kremlin spokesman said it best

This (investigation) can be seen as the product of the elegant sense of humour of the British, when a public and closed investigation rests on undisclosed information from unnamed intelligence services and the ample use of the words 'possibly' and 'probably'.

Crocodile tears from Therssa May though.
Not like she wouldn't give the same order if a British spy went rogue and went to Russia. British intelligence just wouldn't be stupid enough to make it so blatant.

I have been following this case since it all started way back when.

I think it is fair to say that this finding and the response of the Russians is hardly surprising but lets face the British establishment will do nothing about this other than rant and rave in the commons and to the press about the big bad Russian bare assassinating people on the streets of london.

I find it quite surprising that this thread does not have more of a interest on ATS.

But then again if its not about the upcoming Presidential election, guns, ranting about other member then its not really of interest even if the UK government has basically said Putin ordered the assassination of a guy in London in board daylight that even injured British citizens.

originally posted by: Xcalibur254
a reply to: Discotech

I guess it's just a coincidence that Litvinenko was poisoned by polonium and the only country that produces large quantities of polonium is Russia. The only country that stood to gain from Litvinenko's death was Russia.

Not coincidence but irrelevant. Polonium is available on the international blackmarket of radioactive isotopes (yes, there is one - ask the Russian mafia). Anyone with the right contacts could have procured polonium in order to poison someone. It can even be bought on the internet. Those who think this method of assassination points towards the state of Russia have no clue about what ex-FSB agents get involved with in order to make a quick buck. Do people REALLY think an enemy of Russia would be assassinated in such a public way that seems to the uninformed (which is nearly everyone) to implicate its government? That's ridiculous. And the argument that the two agents did not think a British forensic scientist would discover what element had been used to poison Litvinenko simply is not plausible - that was far too risky to chance! Litvinenko would have been shot or made to have a car accident if someone wanted him dead without leaving a trail back to the murder. Why make it so public so as invite condemnation of Russia and Putin?! No, he was killed this way in order to get Putin blamed. The two Russian agents were patsies in the set-up. If you want to know who might have ordered the hit, ask Litvinenko's father. Now, I wonder why the BBC and the British news media never interviewed him ......?

probably

that is all.

ofcourse... wat else !!!!?

originally posted by: micpsi
If you want to know who might have ordered the hit, ask Litvinenko's father. Now, I wonder why the BBC and the British news media never interviewed him ......?

Er, because he was not a credible witness having said one thing, then another. His pleas for Putin to forgive him were embarrassing and smacked of pressure.

The British Government seemed more interested in debating Trump and his denial of entry than that of Putin and the murder of an old KGB Spy.

I will put this report right next to the report on Dr Kelly's Death on my shelf of ''political bs''