Lompat ke isi

Peracunan Alexander Litvinenko: Perbedaan antara revisi

Dari Wikipedia bahasa Indonesia, ensiklopedia bebas
Jelajahi riwayat secara interaktif
← Revisi sebelumnya
Konten dihapus Konten ditambahkan
VisualTeks wiki
Stephensuleeman (bicara | kontrib)
24.084 suntingan
Tidak ada ringkasan suntingan
Partofme00 (bicara | kontrib)
67 suntingan
kTidak ada ringkasan suntingan
 
(22 revisi perantara oleh 17 pengguna tidak ditampilkan)
Baris 1: Baris 1:
{{aktualitas }}
{{rapikan}}


[[1 November]] [[2006]], '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''' mendadak jatuh sakit dan dirawat di rumah sakit. Ia meninggal tiga minggu kemudian dan menjadi korban kedua yang diketahui meninggal karena '''[[keracunan radiasi]]''' [[polonium-210]] yang mematikan, dan yang pertama dalam kondisi yang sangat mencurigakan. Kenyataan bahwa penyingkapan rahasia oleh Litvinenko tentang kejahatan-kejahatan [[FSB (Rusia)|FSB]] yang iemudian diikuti oleh peracunannya — dan tuduhan-tuduhan terbukanya bahwa pemerintah [[Rusia]] berada di balik penderitaannya — menyebabkan kasus ini diberitakan di media di seluruh dunia.
Pada 1 November 2006, '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''' mendadak jatuh sakit dan dirawat di rumah sakit. Ia meninggal dunia tiga minggu kemudian dan diketahui menjadi korban kedua dari peristiwa [[keracunan radiasi]] [[polonium|polonium-210]] yang mematikan. Kenyataan bahwa penyingkapan rahasia oleh Litvinenko tentang kejahatan-kejahatan [[Dinas Keamanan Federal|FSB]] yang kemudian diikuti oleh peracunannya — dan tuduhan-tuduhan terbukanya bahwa pemerintah [[Rusia]] berada di balik penderitaannya — menyebabkan kasus ini diberitakan di media di seluruh dunia.


Pemerintah Britania menyelidiki kasus kematiannya dan dialporkan pada [[1 Desember]] bahwa para ilmuwan di [[Atomic Weapons Establishment]] Britania telah menelusuri sumber poloniumnya ke sebuah [[pembangkit tenaga listrik]] di Rusia.<ref name="corpse"/> Pada [[3 Desember]], laporan-laporan menyatakan bahwa Britania telah menuntut hak untuk berbicara sekurang-kurangnya dengan lima orang Rusia yang dituduh terlibat dalam kematian Litvinenko, dan [[Departemen Luar Negeri Minister Rusia|Menteri Luar Negeri Rusia]] [[Sergey Lavrov]] menegaskan bahwa Moskwa bersedia menjawab "pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang konkret."<ref>{{cite web
Pemerintah Britania menyelidiki kasus kematiannya dan dilaporkan pada 1 Desember 2006 bahwa para ilmuwan di [[Atomic Weapons Establishment]] Britania telah menelusuri sumber poloniumnya ke sebuah [[pembangkit tenaga listrik]] di Rusia.<ref name="corpse"/> Pada 3 Desember 2006, laporan-laporan menyatakan bahwa Britania telah menuntut hak untuk berbicara sekurang-kurangnya dengan lima orang Rusia yang dituduh terlibat dalam kematian Litvinenko dan [[Departemen Luar Negeri Minister Rusia|Menteri Luar Negeri Rusia]] [[Sergey Lavrov]] menegaskan bahwa Moskwa bersedia menjawab "pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang konkret."<ref>{{cite web
| first = Brian
| first = Brian
| last = Brady
| last = Brady
Baris 10: Baris 10:
| date = [[3 Desember]] [[1998]]
| date = [[3 Desember]] [[1998]]
| url = http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1792032006
| url = http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1792032006
| accessdate = 3 Des. 2006}}</ref> Jaksa Agung Rusia [[Yury Chaika]] berkata hari Selasa, 5 Desember bahwa warga Rusia manapun yang dituduh melakukan peracunan ini akan diadili di Rusia, bukan di Britania.<ref>{{cite web
| accessdate = 3 Des. 2006}}</ref> Jaksa Agung Rusia [[Yury Chaika]] berkata hari Selasa, 5 Desember 2006 bahwa warga Rusia manapun yang dituduh melakukan peracunan ini akan diadili di Rusia, bukan di Britania.<ref>{{cite web
| first =
| first =
| last =
| last =
| title = Russia says no extradition for Litvinenko suspects
| title = Russia says no extradition for Litvinenko suspects
| publisher = [[Reuters]]
| publisher = [[Reuters]]
| date = [[5 Desember]] [[2006]]
| date = [[5 Desember]] [[2006]]
| url = http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-12-05T125914Z_01_L05626310_RTRUKOC_0_US-BRITAN-POISONING-PROSECUTOR.xml&src=rss&rpc=22
| url = http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-12-05T125914Z_01_L05626310_RTRUKOC_0_US-BRITAN-POISONING-PROSECUTOR.xml&src=rss&rpc=22
| accessdate = 5 Des. 2006}}</ref> Lebih lanjut, Chaika menyatakan bahwa jaksa-jaksa Rusia akan mengajukan pertanyaan apapun kepada warga-warga Rusia di hadapan detektif-detektif Britania.<ref>{{cite web
| accessdate = 5 Des. 2006
}}{{Pranala mati|date=Mei 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Lebih lanjut, Chaika menyatakan bahwa jaksa-jaksa Rusia akan mengajukan pertanyaan apapun kepada warga-warga Rusia di hadapan detektif-detektif Britania.<ref>{{cite web
| first = Neil
| first = Neil
| last = Buckley
| last = Buckley
Baris 24: Baris 25:
| date = [[5 Desember]] [[2006]]
| date = [[5 Desember]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.ft.com/cms/s/28d68a18-848e-11db-87e0-0000779e2340.html
| url = http://www.ft.com/cms/s/28d68a18-848e-11db-87e0-0000779e2340.html
| accessdate = 5 Des. 2006}}</ref>
| accessdate = 5 Des. 2006}}</ref>


== Penyakit dan keracunan ==
== Penyakit dan keracunan ==
Pada [[1 November]] [[2006]], Litvinenko mendadak jatuh sakit. Dalam berbagai wawancara, ia menyatakan bahwa ia berjumpa dengan dua bekas agen KGB sebelumnya hari itu, salah satunya adalah [[Andrei Lugovoi]], seorang mantan pengawal bekas PM Rusia [[Yegor Gaidar]] (juga dilaporkan keracunan pada [[November]] [[2006]]). Belakangan, ia makan siang di [[Itsu]], sebuah restoran [[sushi]] di [[Piccadilly]] di London, dengan seorang kenalan orang [[Italia]], [[Mario Scaramella]], dan kepadanya ia melaporkan tuduhan-tuduhan mengenai [[Romano Prodi]].<ref>{{cite web
Pada 1 November 2006, Litvinenko mendadak jatuh sakit. Dalam berbagai wawancara, ia menyatakan bahwa ia berjumpa dengan dua bekas agen KGB sebelumnya hari itu, salah satunya adalah [[Andrei Lugovoi]], seorang mantan pengawal bekas PM Rusia [[Yegor Gaidar]] (juga dilaporkan keracunan pada November 2006). Belakangan, ia dikabarkan sedang makan siang di [[Itsu]], sebuah restoran [[sushi]] di [[Piccadilly]] di London, dengan seorang kenalan orang [[Italia]], [[Mario Scaramella]], dan kepadanya ia melaporkan tuduhan-tuduhan mengenai [[Romano Prodi]].<ref>{{cite web
| last = Batten
| last = Batten
| first =Gerard
| first = Gerard
| title = Gerard Batten MEP - "60 second speech to the European Parliament "Romano Prodi" - Strasbourg
| title = Gerard Batten MEP - "60 second speech to the European Parliament "Romano Prodi" - Strasbourg
| work =
| work =
| publisher = [[UKIP]]
| publisher = [[UKIP]]
| date = [[3 April]] [[2006]]
| date = [[3 April]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.ukip.org/ukip_news/gen12.php?t=1&id=2055
| url = http://www.ukip.org/ukip_news/gen12.php?t=1&id=2055
| accessdate = 21 Nov. 2006
| accessdate = 21 Nov. 2006 }}</ref> <!--Scaramella, attached to the [[Mitrokhin Commission#Mitrokhin Commission|Mitrokhin Commission]] investigating KGB penetration of Italian politics, claimed to have information on the death of [[Anna Politkovskaya]], 48, a journalist who was killed at her Moscow apartment in [[October 2006]]. He passed Litvinenko papers supposedly concerning her fate. On [[November 20]], it was reported that Scaramella had gone into hiding and was in fear for his life.<ref>{{cite web
| archive-date = 2006-10-13
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061013081221/http://www.ukip.org/ukip_news/gen12.php?t=1&id=2055
| dead-url = yes
}}</ref> Scaramella, yang terkait dengan [[Komisi Mitrokhin]] yang menyelidiki penetrasi KGB terhadap politik Italia, mengklaim mempunyai informasi mengenai kematian [[Anna Politkovskaya]], 48, seorang wartawati yang dibunuh di apartemennya di Moskwa pada Oktober 2006. Ia menyerahkan kepada Litvinenko dokumen-dokumen yang konon berkaitan dengan nasib Politkovskaya. Pada 20 November, dilaporkan bahwa Scaramella telah bersembunyi dan ketakutan bahwa nyawanya terancam.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Owen
| last = Owen
| first =Richard
| first =Richard
| title = Exile's contact in hiding after 'being made a scapegoat'
| title = Exile's contact in hiding after 'being made a scapegoat'
| work =
| work =
| publisher = ''[[The Times]] ''
| publisher = ''[[The Times]]''
| date = [[November 20]] [[2006]]
| date = [[20 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2462162,00.html
| url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2462162,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-21 }}</ref> [[Oleg Gordievsky]], a long-time acquaintance of Litvinenko and another former KGB colonel who had defected to the UK, told the BBC he believed Litvinenko was poisoned at the flat of an old Russian friend, with whom he had had tea before going to the sushi restaurant. Gaidar himself was struck by a sudden unexplained illness on [[November 24]].<ref>{{cite web
| accessdate = 21 Nov. 2006 }}</ref> [[Oleg Gordievsky]], seorang kenalan lama Litvinenko dan seorang bekas kolonel KGB lainnya yang telah membelot ke Britania Raya, mengatakan kepada BBC bahwa ia yakin Litvinenko diracuni di flat seorang teman lama Rusia, yang minum teh sebelumnya bersama Litvinenko sebelum ia pergi ke restoran sushi. Gaidar sendiri mendadak diserang sebuah penyakit yang tidak dijelaskan pada 24 November.<ref>{{cite web
| last=Ostrovsky
| last = Ostrovsky
| first=Arkady
| first = Arkady
| title = Mystery illness hits former Russian PM
| title = Mystery illness hits former Russian PM
| work=
| work =
| publisher = ''[[The Financial Times]]''
| publisher = ''[[The Financial Times]]''
| date = [[November 28]], [[2006]]
| date = [[28 November]] [[2006]]
| url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1bc23f9c-7f21-11db-b193-0000779e2340.html
| url = http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1bc23f9c-7f21-11db-b193-0000779e2340.html
| access-date = 2006-12-07
}}</ref>
| archive-date = 2007-05-27
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070527124947/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1bc23f9c-7f21-11db-b193-0000779e2340.html
| dead-url = yes
}}</ref>


Litvinenko's poisoning is now attributed to the [[radionuclide]] [[Polonium|polonium-210]] after the [[Health Protection Agency]] found significant amounts of this rare and toxic element in his body. The poisoning was widely covered in the British media beginning [[18 November]] [[2006]], though it had been covered in other countries for several days before.<ref>{{cite web
Keracunan Litvinenko kini dihubungkan dengan [[radionuklida]] [[Polonium|polonium-210]] setelah [[Badan Perlindungan Kesehatan]] menemukan jumlah yang cukup besar dari unsur yang jarang dan beracun ini dalam tubuhnya. Keracunan ini dilaporkan secara luas dalam media Britania sejak 18 November [[2006]], meskipun di negara-negara lain sudah dilaporkan selama beberapa hari sebelumnya.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Litvinenko Didn’t Digest Information
| title = Litvinenko Didn’t Digest Information
| publisher = [[Kommersant]]
| publisher = [[Kommersant]]
| date = [[13 November]] [[2006]]
| date = [[13 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.kommersant.com/p721065/Litvienko_poisoning_Politkovskaya/
| url = http://www.kommersant.com/p721065/Litvienko_poisoning_Politkovskaya/
| accessdate = 2006-11-30 }}</ref>
| accessdate = 30 Nov. 2006
| archive-date = 2007-09-27
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927191435/http://www.kommersant.com/p721065/Litvienko_poisoning_Politkovskaya
| dead-url = yes
}}</ref>
<!--
<!--
Those who administered the poison were experts in the subject, as precisely the right amount was used to cause a prolonged death; too great a dosage would have resulted in immediate convulsions and death, and too light a dosage would have resulted in a possible recovery though with a good likelihood of subsequent long-term health problems.<ref>{{cite web
Those who administered the poison were experts in the subject, as precisely the right amount was used to cause a prolonged death; too great a dosage would have resulted in immediate convulsions and death, and too light a dosage would have resulted in a possible recovery though with a good likelihood of subsequent long-term health problems.<ref>{{cite web
Baris 67: Baris 80:
| accessdate = 2006-11-25 }}</ref>
| accessdate = 2006-11-25 }}</ref>
--><!--Section was removed as it seems like OR, and probably won't be verifiable-->
--><!--Section was removed as it seems like OR, and probably won't be verifiable-->

<!--===Thallium - initial hypothesis===
=== Talium - hipotesis awal ===
[[Scotland Yard]] initially investigated claims that Litvinenko was poisoned with [[thallium]]. It was reported that early tests appeared to confirm the presence of the poison.<ref name=UK vendetta">{{cite web
[[Scotland Yard]] mulanya menyelidiki klaim-klaim bahwa Litvinenko diracuni dengan [[talium]]. Dilaporkan bahwa tes-tes awal tampaknya mengukuhkan kehadiran racun ini.<ref name="UK vendetta">{{cite web
| last = Townsend
| last = Townsend
| first =Mark
| first =Mark
Baris 74: Baris 88:
| work =
| work =
| publisher = ''[[The Guardian]] ''
| publisher = ''[[The Guardian]] ''
| date = [[November 19]] [[2006]]
| date = [[19 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,1952004,00.html
| url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,1952004,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-21 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| accessdate = 21 Nov. 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| last = Murphy
| last = Murphy
| first =Kim
| first =Kim
Baris 82: Baris 96:
| work =
| work =
| publisher = ''[[Los Angeles Times]] ''
| publisher = ''[[Los Angeles Times]] ''
| date = [[November 21]] [[2006]]
| date = [[21 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-poison21nov21,1,1336322.story?coll=la-headlines-world
| url = http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-poison21nov21,1,1336322.story?coll=la-headlines-world
| accessdate = 21 Nov. 2006 }}</ref>
| accessdate = 2006-11-21 }}</ref> Among the distinctive effects of thallium poisoning are hair loss and damage to [[Peripheral nervous system|peripheral nerves]],<ref name="50/50">{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Ex-spy's '50% chance of survival'
| work =
| publisher = ''[[The Guardian]]''
| date = [[November 19]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6225933,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-21 }}</ref> and a photograph of Litvinenko in hospital, released to the media on his behalf,<ref name="Ex-spy dies">{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Poisoned former KGB man dies in hospital
| publisher = ''[[The Guardian]] ''
| date = [[November 24]] [[2006]]
| url =http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,1955864,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-24 }}</ref> indeed showed his hair to have fallen out. Litvinenko attributed his initial survival to his cardiovascular fitness and swift medical treatment. It was later suggested a [[radioactive]] [[isotope]] of thallium might have been used to poison Litvinenko.<ref>{{cite web
| title = London doctor: Radioactive poison may be in ex-Russian spy
| url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-11-20-spy_x.htm?csp=34
| date = [[November 21]] [[2006]]
| accessdate = 2006-11-24
| publisher = [[USA Today]] }}</ref> Dr. Amit Nathwani, one of Litvinenko's physicians said, "His symptoms are slightly odd for thallium poisoning, and the chemical levels of thallium we were able to detect are not the kind of levels you'd see in toxicity."<ref> {{cite web
| title = Doctors in dark on poisoned ex-spy
| url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/11/21/uk.spypoisoned/index.html
| date = [[November 21]] [[2006]]
| accessdate = 2006-11-22
| publisher = [[CNN]] }}</ref> Litvinenko's condition deteriorated, and he was moved into [[intensive care medicine|intensive care]] on [[November 20]]. Hours before his death, three unidentified circular-shaped objects were found in his stomach via an [[X-ray]] scan.<ref>{{es icon}}{{cite web
| title = Murió Alexander Litvinenko, el ex espía ruso que fue envenenado en Londres
| url = http://www.eltiempo.com/internacional/europa/noticias/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3337667.html
| date = [[November 24]] [[2006]]
| accessdate = 2006-11-24
| publisher = ''[[El Tiempo]]''}}</ref> It is thought these objects were almost certainly shadows caused by the presence of [[Prussian blue]], the treatment he had been given for thallium poisoning.<ref name="50/50">{{cite web
| title = Ex-Russian spy dies in hospital
| publisher = [[BBC]]
| date = [[November 24]] [[2006]]
| url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6178890.stm
| accessdate = 2006-11-24 }}</ref><ref name="Condition Deteriorates">{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Ex-spy's condition deteriorates
| work =
| publisher = [[BBC]]
| date = [[November 24]] [[2006]]
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6176004.stm
| accessdate = 2006-11-24 }}</ref>


Subsequently it was reported that traces of thallium are commonly found with polonium: "A tiny amount of thallium, a common impurity in polonium and a poison in its own right, was also found (in Litvinenko's [[Bodily fluid|body fluids]]). Polonium is typically made by bombarding bismuth-209, a heavy metal similar to antimony, with neutrons to make bismuth-210, which rapidly decays into polonium-210. But bismuth can also decay into thallium-206 — which is why polonium might have traces of thallium as well."<ref name="Times">{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Focus: Cracking the code of the nuclear assassin
| work =
| publisher = ''[[The Times]]''
| date = [[December 3]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2484295_2,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-12-03 }}</ref>
But <sup>206<sup>Tl has a very short half life of minutes so it is unlikely that any would have been present by the time is was brought into the UK. It is more likely that stable lead would be found as an impurity in the polonium used.

=== Polonium-210 ===
{{wikinews|Traces of radiation found where Litvinenko ate}}Shortly after his death, the UK's [[Health Protection Agency]] HPA stated tests had established Litvinenko had significant amounts of the radioactive isotope [[Polonium|polonium-210]] in his body. This was most likely inhaled or ingested, and traces of it were found at several London locations: in his [[Muswell Hill]] home, at a hotel in [[Grosvenor Square]], and at the sushi restaurant where he had met Scaramella on [[November 1]], and where he regularly held meetings, including a [[October 16]] meeting with two Russians. Traces were also found in a former [[Business oligarch|Russian oligarch]] [[Boris Berezovsky]]'s offices and his residence in [[Mayfair]].<ref name="Polonium 210">{{cite web
| last = Hall
| first = Ben
| title = Polonium 210 found at Berezovsky's office
| work =
| publisher = [[MSNBC]]
| date = [[November 28]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15923659/
| accessdate = 2006-12-01 }}</ref>

British and [[Federal government of the United States|US government]] sources both said the use of <sup>210</sup>Po as a poison has never been documented before,<ref> {{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Diplomatic crisis between Europe and Vladimir Putin’s Russia
| work =
| publisher = News Point
| date = [[November 26]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.newspoint.us/2006/11/26/diplomatic-crisis-between-europe-and-vladimir-putin%e2%80%99s-russia.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-29 }}</ref> and this was probably the first time a person has been tested for the presence of polonium-210 in his or her body. According to Maxim Shingarkin, an expert on radiation safety, the theory of Litvinenko's exposure to <sup>210</sup>Po at the sushi bar or at the hotel's restaurant is not viable, given the nature of <sup>210</sup>Po. If it is uncontained — mixed into food or a drink — <sup>210</sup>Po will quickly transform into its [[particulate|aerosol]] form, effectively contaminating an enclosed space. Had this been the case, the other customers and the staff of the sushi bar and the restaurant would be severely affected as well. Since all the locations where the presence of <sup>210</sup>Po was detected display only trace amounts, originating from Litvinenko himself, his initial exposure to the substance may have occurred elsewhere.<ref>{{ru icon}} {{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Литвиненко знал террористов, разработавших «грязную бомбу»?
| work =
| publisher = [[Komsomolskaya Pravda]]
| date = [[November 28]] [[2006]]
| url = http://kp.ru/daily/23814/60406/
| accessdate = 2006-12-01 }} </ref>

The HPA is investigating<ref name="HPA Press Release">
{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Health Protection Agency press release
| publisher = [[HPA]]
| date = [[November 24]] [[2006]]
| url =http://www.hpa.org.uk/hpa/news/articles/press_releases/2006/241106_litvinenko.htm
| accessdate = 2006-11-24 }}</ref> the risk to people who had contact with Litvinenko and confirmed that, as a precautionary measure, some people had been referred to a [[specialist clinic]] for possible radiological [[exposure assessment]].<ref name="BBC News">
{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Trio in clinic after spy's death
| publisher = [[BBC News]]
| date = [[November 27]] [[2006]]
| url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6186666.stm
| accessdate = 2006-11-27 }}</ref> The HPA is also seeking to analyze impurities in the polonium that may act as a "fingerprint" to identify its source.<ref name="Guardian Unlimited">{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Explainer: Polonium 210
| publisher = [[Guardian Unlimited]]
| date = [[November 25]] [[2006]]
| url =http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,1956792,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-30 }}</ref>

=== Sources of polonium ===
:''See also: [[Polonium#Toxicity|Polonium toxicity]]''

The use of polonium in the poisoning has been seen as proof of involvement of a state actor<ref>{{cite web
| last = Felgenhauer
| first = Pavel
| title = Russian political intrigue means Putin could not have been in the dark about Litvinenko attack
| work =
| publisher = [[Jamestown Foundation]]
| date = [[29 November]] 2006
| url = http://jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2371683
| accessdate = 2006-12-03 }}</ref>, as more than microscopic amounts of polonium can only be produced in [[nuclear reactor]]s.<ref>Polonium is found in [[uranium]] ores at about 100 [[microgram]]s per [[metric ton]] (1:10<sup>10</sup>). Its [[natural abundance]] is approximately 0.2% that of radium. It can also be produced by bombarding [[bismuth]] (<sup>209</sup>Bi) with [[neutron]]s. Polonium can be made in milligram amounts using this procedure, which uses high neutron fluxes found in [[nuclear reactor]]s.</ref> Most polonium produced in Russia is however distributed by western commercial distributors.<ref name="corpse"/>

The effect on Litvinenko appears consistent with a dose of approximately 2 GBq (50 mCi) of <sup>210</sup>Po, more than 100 times a [[lethal dose]] of around 200 <math>\mu</math>Ci.<ref name="Times"/>

==== Po-210 production ====
Most of the world's polonium-210 (<sup>210</sup>Po) is produced in Russia in [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant|Chernobyl]]-type [[RBMK]] reactors. About 100 grams (450,000 Ci) are produced by Russia annually. According to a claim by [[Sergei Kiriyenko]], the head of Russia's state atomic energy agency, [[RosAtom]], all of it goes to U.S. companies through a single authorized supplier. <ref name="corpse">{{cite web
| title = Scientists examine corpse of former Russian spy
| work =
| publisher = [[Reuters]]
| date = [[22 November]] 2006
| url = http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-12-01T131932Z_01_L29570112_RTRUKOC_0_US-BRITAIN-POISONING.xml&pageNumber=1&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage1 | accessdate = 2006-12-02 }}</ref>

Polonium-210 is a synthetic element that has a [[half-life]] of 138 days as it gradually transforms into [[lead]]. This means that after four months approximately half the polonium has been transformed, and it drops to about one eighth of its original potency a year after it was first produced. It is thus virtually impossible that the polonium came from a pre-[[1991]] Soviet-era source, and it is unlikely to have been in storage for more than a year.

==== Commercial products ====
No credible nuclear authority has asserted that a [[Product (business)|commercial product]] is a likely source for the poisoning of Litvinenko. However, potentially lethal amounts of polonium are present in anti-static brushes sold to photographers.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Solutions to Static Problems
| work =
| publisher = Amstat Industries
| date =
| url = http://www.amstat.com/solutions/staticmaster.html
| accessdate = 2006-12-01 }}</ref> Many of the devices are available by [[mail order]].
[[General Electric]] markets a [[static eliminator]] module with 500 microcuries (20 MBq), roughly 2.5 times the lethal dose of Po-210 if 100%-ingested, for US $71.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Static Eliminator
| work =
| publisher = GE Osmonics' Labstore
| date =
| url = http://www.osmolabstore.com/OsmoLabPage.dll?BuildPage&1&1&1005
| accessdate = 2006-12-01 }}</ref>
If these were used to collect the amount of polonium likely used in the poisoning -- and one could devise a method of separating the polonium from its protective casing -- it would take 100 modules for US $7100.
<!--
Small amounts of Po-210 are available to the public in the United States by mail order from a company called [[United Nuclear]]. Of note, as stated on United Nuclear's website, it would require about 15,000 Po-210 needle sources at a total cost of about $1 million to have a toxic amount. The site continues: "If you really wanted to poison someone, you would of course have to come up with a way to remove the invisible amount of material from the exempt sources - which is just about physically impossible - and combine them together. Of course you would also need those 15,000 exempt sources. Another point to keep in mind is that an order for 15,000 sources would look a tad suspicious, considering we sell about 1 or 2 sources every 3 months."<ref>
{{cite web
| last = Singleton
| first = Don
| title = The Availability of Polonium-210
| publisher =
| date = [[November 28]] [[2006]]
| url =http://donsingleton.blogspot.com/2006/11/polonium-210.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-29 }}</ref>

Similarly, the tiny amounts of such radioisotopes commonly used in the laboratory or for teaching purposes &mdash; typically of the order of 4&ndash;40 kBq (0.1&ndash;1.0 <math>\mu</math>Ci), in the form of sealed sources, with the Po deposited on a substrate or in a resin or polymer matrix &mdash; are often exempt from licencing by NRC and similar authorities as they are not considered hazardous.

It is said the FSB had access to radioactive material in order to trace [[Russian Mafia|Russian mafia]] money.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Litvinenko poisoning
| work =
| publisher = [[BBC]]
| date = [[22 November]] 2006
| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/witn/2006/11/061122_litvinenko.shtml
| accessdate = 2006-12-02 }}</ref> Polonium is apparently considered by some to be an ideal element to use for tracing money due to its minimal [[health effect]]s outside the body, and for its relatively short half-life. However, clearly, ingested or absorbed polonium is potentially lethal, regardless of the delivery mechanism.

Reports now state that scientists of the UK's [[Atomic Weapons Establishment]] have confirmed the polonium was manufactured and the source is likely to originate from a Russian nuclear reactor.<ref name ="corpse"/><ref name="Times"/><ref name="Poisoned">{{cite web
| last = Gardham
| first= Duncan and Steele, John
| title = Spy's contact and wife also poisoned
| work =
| publisher = [[The Daily Telegraph]]
| date = [[December 2]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/02/npoison02.xml
| accessdate = 2006-12-02 }}</ref> This of course does not exclude the possibily that the polonium that killed Litvinenko was imported by a licensed commercial distributor, but no one -- including the Russian government -- has proposed that this is likely, particularly in regard to the radiation detected on the British Airways Moscow-London passenger jets.

=== Polonium in passenger airplanes ===

On [[November 29]] [[2006]], [[British Airways]] announced that three of its passenger jets had been linked to the investigation of Litvinenko's death and two were found by British authorities to contain trace amounts of a radioactive substance.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Cowell
| first = Alan
| title = Planes tested for radioactivity in link to death of the former Russian spy
| publisher = ''[[New York Times]]''
| date = [[November 29]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/29/news/russia.php
| accessdate = 2006-11-30 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Radiation on airliners may be from poisoned spy
| publisher = [[CNN]]
| date = [[November 29]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/11/29/uk.spy.ba.ap/index.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-30 }}</ref>
Flights cited as being of particular interest included flights BA875 and BA873 from Moscow to Heathrow on October 25 and October 31, as well as flights BA872 and BA874 from Heathrow to Moscow on October 28 and November 3.<ref>{{cite web
| title = BA jets grounded after radiation discovered at Heathrow
| publisher = [[Times Online]]
| date = [[November 29]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2478451,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-29}}</ref> A further two aircraft in Russia are now being investigated.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Oliver
| first =Mark
| title = Radiation found at 12 sites in Litvinenko case
| work =
| publisher = [[The Guardian]]
| date = [[November 30]] [[2006]]
| url = http://politics.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,329649159-110481,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-30 }}</ref>

[[British Airways]] published the 221 flights affected, involving around 33,000 passengers, and advised those potentially affected to contact the UK [[Department for Health]] helpline.
[[Andrei Lugovoi]] has said he flew from London to Moscow on a November 3 flight. He stated he arrived in London on [[October 31]] to attend the [[football (soccer)|football]] match between [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] and [[PFC CSKA Moscow|CSKA Moscow]] on [[November 1]].<ref>{{cite web
| title = Victim's tea companion denies any involvement
| publisher = [[Times Online]]
| date = [[November 24]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2469663,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-29}}</ref>

British Airways issued an email to all its customers on the [[5 December]] [[2006]] informing them that the aircraft had all been declared safe by the UK's Health Protection Agency and would be entering back into service.

== Death and last statement ==
On [[November 22]], Litvinenko's medical staff at University College Hospital reported he had suffered a "major setback" due to either [[Congestive heart failure|heart failure]] or an overnight [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]]; he died the following day. [[Scotland Yard]] reported that "[i]nquiries continue into the circumstances surrounding how Mr Litvinenko, 43 years, of [[North London]], became unwell."<ref>{{cite web

| title = Poisoned Russian former spy dies
| work =
| publisher = [[CNN]]
| date = [[November 23]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/11/23/uk.spypoisoned/index.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-23 }}</ref>

On [[November 25]], two days after Litvinenko's death, an article attributed to him was published by the [http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=418652&in_page_id=1770 Mail on Sunday Online] entitled ''Why I believe Putin wanted me dead''.

Litvinenko's [[postmortem]] took place on December 1 and has been completed. It has been stated that three physicians attended, including one chosen by the family. Although the results will take several days to be announced, Walter Litvinenko has stated he was told by the doctors that Litivinenko's body had five times the level of polonium that would be considered lethal.<ref name="Muslim">{{cite web
| first = Philippe
| last = Naughton
| title = British police arrive in Moscow to hunt for spy death clues
| publisher = ''[[The Times]]''
| date = [[04 December]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2486268_1,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-12-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| title = No signs of Poisoning
| publisher = ''[[Sky News]]''
| date = [[01 December]] [[2006]]
| url = http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13554873,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-12-02}}</ref>

According to [[Akhmed Zakayev]] the [[Koran]] was read to him a day prior to his death.<ref name="Poisoned"/> Litvinenko's funeral reading took place on [[7 December]] at the Central London mosque, after which his body was buried at Highgate Cemetery in north London.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Funeral service for murdered spy
| publisher = ''[[BBC News]]''
| date = [[7 December]] [[2006]]
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6216202.stm
| accessdate = 2006-12-07 }}</ref>

== Investigations ==

[[Greater London]]'s [[Metropolitan Police Service]] [[Terrorism]] Unit has been investigating the poisoning and death. The head of the [[Counter Terrorist Unit|Counter-Terrorism Unit]], [[Deputy Assistant Commissioner]] Peter Clarke, stated the police "will trace possible witnesses, examine Mr. Litvinenko's movements at relevant times, including when he first became ill and identify people he may have met. There will also be an extensive examination of CCTV footage."<ref>{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title =
Police investigation into the death of Alexander Litvinenko
| work =
| publisher = [[Metropolitan Police Service]]
| date = [[November 24]] [[2006]]
| url = http://cms.met.police.uk/news/major_operational_announcements/police_investigation_into_the_death_of_alexander_litvinenko
| accessdate = 2006-11-27 }}</ref>
The [[United Kingdom]] Government [[Cabinet Office Briefing Room A|COBRA]] committee met to discuss the investigation.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Brown
| first =Colin and Castle, Stephen
| title =
Cobra meets over fears about assassination squad
| work =
| publisher = ''[[The Independent]] ''
| date = [[November 24]] [[2006]]
| url = http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2013335.ece
| accessdate = 2006-11-27 }}</ref> Richard Kolko from the [[United States]] [[FBI]] stated "when requested by other nations, we provide assistance" - referring to the FBI now joining the investigation for their expertise on radioactive weapons.<ref>{{cite web
| title = FBI joins in Russian spy death probe
| publisher = [[The Sydney Morning Herald]]
| date = [[1 December]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/fbi-joins-in-russian-spy-death-probe/2006/12/01/1164777758528.html
| accessdate = 2006-12-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| last = Quinn
| first = Jennifer
| title = FBI Joins Investigation of Poisoned Spy
| publisher = [[Associated Press]]
| date = [[30 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/11/30/D8LNLOEG2.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-30}}</ref>

=== Russian Government Involvement Theory ===
Litvinenko's death has led to the development of numerous [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]], notably the theory that he was killed by a Russian [[secret service]].<ref name="Russia law">{{cite web
| last = Eke
| first = Steven
| title = Russia law on killing 'extremists' abroad
| work =
| publisher = [[BBC News]]
| date = [[27 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6188658.stm
| accessdate = 2006-11-27 }}</ref> Viktor Ilyukhin, a deputy chairman of the Russian parliament’s security committee for the [[Communist Party of the Russian Federation]], said that he "can’t exclude that possibility". He said: "That former KGB officer had been irritating the Russian authorities for a long time and possibly knew some state secrets. So when our special services got the chance to operate not only inside but outside the country, they decided to get rid of him."<ref>{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Poisoned by radiation
| work =
| publisher = ''[[The Sun (newspaper)|The Sun]]''
| date = [[21 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006540128,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-24 }}</ref> He apparently referred to a recent Russian [[counter-terrorism]] law that gives the President the right to order such actions.<ref name="Russia law"/><ref>{{ru icon}}{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Федеральный закон Российской Федерации от 6 марта 2006 г. N 35-ФЗ О противодействии терроризму
| work =
| publisher = [[Government of Russia]]
| date = [[20 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.rg.ru/2006/03/10/borba-terrorizm.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-24 }}</ref>

Moreover, it has been reported in the Chechen State Press that an investigator of the [[Russian apartment bombings]], [[Mikhail Trepashkin]] wrote in a letter from prison that an FSB team had organised in 2002 to kill Litvinenko. He also reported FSB plans to kill relatives of Litvinenko in Moscow in 2002, although these have not been carried out. <ref name="cp1-12">{{ru icon}}{{cite web
| title = М. Трепашкин: «Создана очень серьезная группа»
| publisher = Chechen Press State News Agency
| date = [[1 December]], [[2006]]
| url = http://www.chechenpress.info/events/2006/12/01/03.shtml
| accessdate = 2006-12-01 }}</ref><ref name=" Дело Литвиненко">{{ru icon}}{{cite web
| title = Березовский и УРПО / дело Литвиненко
| publisher = "Агентура.Ру"
| date = [[November 27]], [[2006]]
| url = http://www.agentura.ru/timeline/1998/urpo/
| accessdate = 2006-11-30 }}</ref>

[[Leonid Nevzlin]], a former [[Yukos]] [[Petroleum industry|oil company]] shareholder and Russian exile currently living in Israel, told the [[Associated Press]] in late November <!--When is last week on 3/12/06?--> <!--that Litvinenko had given him a document related to a dossier on criminal charges made by Russian prosecutors against people connected to Yukos. Nevzlin, who is charged by Russian prosecutors with having organized killings, fraud and [[Tax avoidance and tax evasion|tax evasion]], claimed Litvinenko's inquiries may have provided a [[motive]] for his poisoning.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Stringer
| first = David
| title = Ex-KGB Agent Says He Named Spy Suspect
| work =
| publisher = [[Washington Post]]
| date = [[12 December]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/03/AR2006120300224.html
| accessdate = 2006-12-03 }}</ref>

[[Akhmed Zakayev]] suggested that radioactive polonium has been previously tested on Chechen children [http://grani.ru/Events/Crime/m.115425.html]. The mass poisoning of Chechen school children by the unknown substance with prolonged action has been described by [[Anna Politkovskaya]] in three articles published in [[Novaya Gazeta]] in 2006. [http://2006.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2006/92n/n92n-s10.shtml].

====Russian Government response====

The press in Russia has offered a number of alternatives to Litvinenko's demise.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Weir
| first = Fred
| title = Anti-Russian conspirators killed KGB spy
| work =
| publisher = [[Hindustan Times]]
| date = [[3 December]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1858566,00050003.htm
| accessdate = 2006-12-03 }}</ref> As one example, Russian state television has taken the view that if Litvinenko knew any important secrets, he would already have made them public during his six-year-long stay in the United Kingdom. According to this view, he was not an important person and not worth a loud [[political scandal]]. Also a suspicious simultaneousness between the deaths of the so-called ''oppositionals'' and big international summits with Russian participation was noted, along with the question who could be interested in worsening Russia's and Putin's image in front of them.<ref>{{ru icon}}{{cite web
| last = Trubetskoy
| first = Vitaly
| title = Strange death away from home
| work =
| publisher = Vesti.Ru
| date = [[24 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.vesti.ru/comments.html?id=53078&tid=40713
| accessdate = 2006-11-24 }}</ref>

[[Vladimir Putin]]'s aide Sergei Yastrzhembsky commented:
{{cquote|The excessive number of calculated coincidences between the deaths of people, who defined themselves as the opposition to the Russian authorities, and major international events involving Vladimir Putin is a source of concern. I am far from believing in the conspiracy theory, but, in this case, I think that we are witnessing a well-rehearsed plan of the consistent discrediting of the Russian Federation and its chief. In such cases, the famed "[[cui bono|qui bono]]" [''[[sic]]''] question has to be asked.<ref>{{cite web

| title = Russia faces well-rehearsed discrediting campaign - aide
| work =
| publisher = [[Information Telegraph Agency of Russia]]
| date = [[November 24]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11017842&PageNum=0
| accessdate = 2006-11-26 }}</ref>}}

Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, dismissed the idea of Putin's involvement as "pure nonsense".<ref>{{cite web
| last = Vasagar
| first = Jeevan
| last = Laville
| first = Sandra
| title = Clinging to life and under armed guard, the spy the Kremlin denies poisoning
| work =
| publisher = [[The Guardian]]
| date = [[November 21]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,1953231,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-21 }}</ref> The involvement of Moscow was denied by [[Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia)|SVR]] representative [[Sergei Ivanov]] who said: {{cquote| From the logical viewpoint and from the 'Who benefits?' viewpoint, I can't see any reasons for the speculation actively being disseminated by the western press alleging this might be the long arms of the KGB or the FSB, There should definitely be a careful and objective investigation. I am sure that it will be conducted and Russia is willing to render any assistance.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Russia did not seek Litvinenko's death: Defence Minister
| publisher = [[Zee News]]
| date = [[2 December]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=339593&sid=WOR
| accessdate = 2006-12-02 }}</ref>}}

The main explanation put forward by the Russian Government appears to be that the deaths of Litvinenko and [[Anna Politkovskaya|Politkovskaya]] were intended to embarrass President Putin. [[Federation Council of Russia]] Speaker [[Sergey Mironov]] said that "reports about Anna Politkovskaya and Litvinenko's deaths were released when Putin was meeting with EU leaders in [[Finland]]. I don't think the coincidence was accidental".<ref name="Mironov">{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title =
Timing of Politkovskaya, Litvinenko deaths, Putin's visits not accidental - Mironov
| work =
| publisher = [[Interfax (press agency)|Interfax]]
| date = [[November 29]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/0/28.html?id_issue=11630885
| accessdate = 2006-11-29 }}</ref> However, Mironov went on to say, "It would be premature to make any conclusions about Litvinenko's death. We must wait until the investigation produces specific results."<ref name="Mironov"/>

British novelist [[Rupert Allason]] said he would be most surprised if the FSB had tried to kill Mr Litvinenko because it would fly in the face of 65 years of Soviet or Russian practice, as "[n]either the FSB nor the KGB has ever killed a defector on foreign soil and their predecessors, even under [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]], did so only once in the case of [[Walter Krivitsky]] in Washington in 1941."<ref>{{cite web
| last = Fenton
| first = B.
| title = Two Russians and a hotel meeting: was this when the poison trap was sprung?
| work =
| publisher = Daily Telegraph
| date = [[22 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/11/21/npoison121.xml
| accessdate = 2006-11-26 }}</ref>

=== Embarrassing deaths theory ===

[[Federation Council of Russia]] Speaker [[Sergey Mironov]] said that "reports about Politkovskaya and Litvinenko's deaths were released when Putin was meeting with EU leaders in [[Finland]]. I don't think the coincidence was accidental".<ref name="Mironov">{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title =
Timing of Politkovskaya, Litvinenko deaths, Putin's visits not accidental - Mironov
| work =
| publisher = [[Interfax (press agency)|Interfax]]
| date = [[November 29]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/0/28.html?id_issue=11630885
| accessdate = 2006-11-29 }}</ref> However, Mironov went on to say, "It would be premature to make any conclusions about Litvinenko's death. We must wait until the investigation produces specific results."<ref name="Mironov"/>

=== Berezovsky theory ===
It has been claimed that the death of Litvinenko was connected to [[Boris Berezovsky]].<ref>{{cite web
| last = Weaver
| first = John
| title = Mafia Hit On The Media
| work =
| publisher = Atlantic Free Press
| date = [[24 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/262/
| accessdate = 2006-11-26 }}</ref><ref>{{ru icon}}{{cite web
| last = Alexeev
| first = Petr
| title = Politkovskaya, Litvinenko, who is next?
| work =
| publisher = Electorat.Info
| date = [[24 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.electorat.info/oligarx/22196-1/
| accessdate = 2006-11-26 }}</ref> Former FSB chief [[Nikolay Kovalev (FSB)|Nikolay Kovalev]], for whom Litvinenko worked, said that the incident "looks like [the] hand of Berezovsky. I am sure that no kind of [[Intelligence agency|intelligence services]] participated."<ref>{{ru icon}}{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Who orchestrated plan to discredit Russia?
| work =
| publisher = ''[[Kommersant]]''
| date = [[25 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.kommersant.ru/doc-y.html?docId=724957&issueId=30261
| accessdate = 2006-11-26 }}</ref>

Another exiled Russian agent, Evgeni Limarev, has confirmed that there may have been a falling out between Berezovsky and Litvinenko and also that the British ([[MI6]]) and American [[Espionage|secret agents]] had told Litvinenko that his life was in danger because of his ties with Berezovsky.<ref>{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = MI5 told Litvinenko: Your life is in danger
| work =
| publisher = ''[[Daily Mail]]''
| date = [[2 December]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23376760-details/MI5+told+Litvinenko:+Your+life+is+in+danger/article.do
| accessdate = 2006-12-02 }}</ref>

On the other hand, the FSB has previously accused Berezovsky of various murders, including that of [[Sergei Yushenkov]], who worked with Berezovsky in founding the political party, [[Liberal Russia]], and was assassinated shortly after the party was registered (another co-founder of this party Vladimir Golovlev was murdered a few months earlier). Four people were put on trial and convicted of the murder, among them [[Mikhail Kodanev]], a co-chairman of Liberal Russia. Yuskenkov's death and the conviction and jailing of the co-chairman of Liberal Russia for his murder is widely perceived to have been part of a policy of eliminating the political threat posed by Berezovsky to the establishment. Therefore the accusations from the FSB of Berezovsky's involvement warrant careful consideration.

Litvinenko himself said, in an article published after his death, that while he was employed by the FSB he was requested as part of a team to assassinate Berezovsky but refused, and instead went straight to him with the information.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Litvinenko
| first = Alexander
| title = Why I believe Putin wanted me dead...
| work =
| publisher = ''[[Daily Mail|The Mail on Sunday]]''
| date = [[25 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=418652&in_page_id=1770
| accessdate = 2006-12-05 }}</ref> Traces of [[polonium 210]] were found in an office belonging to Berezovsky.<ref name="Polonium 210"/>

=== Yukos theory ===

It has been suggested that Litvinenko was killed because of his research into the Russian Government's campaign against the management of the Russian oil company [[Yukos]] and its renationalisation. According to [[The Times]], the police investigation is looking at Litvinenko's journey to Israel prior to his illness and death, where it is alleged that he gave information regarding Yukos to [[Leonid Nevzlin]], the former deputy head of Yukos, who fled to [[Tel Aviv]], including material relating to the deaths of former Yukos workers and information relating to the imprisonment of [[Mikhail Khodorkovsky]].<ref>{{cite web
| last = McGrory
| first =Daniel and Halpin, Tony
| title = Poisoned spy visited Israel with oil dossier
| work =
| publisher = ''[[The Times]]''
| date = [[November 27]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2473385_1,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-27 }}</ref> It is believed that these documents have been handed over to the British investigators.<ref>{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Poisoned Russian security service ex-officer visited Israel with oil dossier
| work =
| publisher = Axis Information and Analysis
| date = [[November 27]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=1142
| accessdate = 2006-11-27 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| last = Nicola
| first = Stefan
| title = Who killed Alexander Litvinenko?
| work =
| publisher = [[United Press International]]
| date = [[November 27]] [[2006]]
| url = http://news.monstersandcritics.com/uk/article_1226783.php/Who_killed_Alexander_Litvinenko
| accessdate = 2006-11-28}}</ref>

[[Yuri Shvets]] a former KGB agent has contacted police in London and detectives have flown out to Washington to interview him. He told [[the Observer]] that Litvinenko claimed before his death that he had prepared a dossier on the Russian Government's relationship with Yukos.<ref name="blackmail plot">{{cite web
| last = Townsend
| first = Mark
| coauthors= Jamie Doward, Tom Parfitt, Barbara McMahon
| title = Revealed: Litvinenko's Russian 'blackmail plot'
| work =
| publisher = [[The Observer]]
| date = [[December 3]] [[2006]]
| url = http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1962829,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-12-04}}</ref>

=== Ex-FSB members theory - Opponents of Putin in 2004 election ===

According to [[the Guardian]]: "British officials say the perpetrators were probably former Russian security agents, or members of a criminal gang linked to them. They also say that only a "state" institution would have access to polonium-210. They insist there is no evidence of the involvement of the Russian government."<ref>{{cite web
| title = Litvinenko affair: now the man who warned him poisoned too
| publisher = [[The Guardian]]
| date = [[December 2]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,1962354,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-12-02}}</ref>

"Scaramella showed Litvinenko a "hit-list" of people allegedly targeted for assassination by the Russian intelligence services and a shadowy group of KGB veterans called ''Dignity and Honour'', which is run by a Colonel Velentin Velichko."<ref>{{cite web
| title = Russia: biggest spy threat to Britain, By Sean Rayment, Security Correspondent, Sunday Telegraph
| publisher = [[Daily Telegraph]]
| date = [[December 2]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/03/nspy03.xml
| accessdate = 2006-12-03}}</ref>

The Russian intelligence services are highly bureaucratic and legalistic. "There isn't a great deal of room for personal initiative, everything has to be officially authorised and signed off. And this murder would have been a highly complex operation involving many people not one or two acting in isolation."<ref>{{cite web
| title = Russia: biggest spy threat to Britain, By Sean Rayment, Security Correspondent, Sunday Telegraph
| publisher = [[Daily Telegraph]]
| date = [[December 2]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/03/nspy03.xml
| accessdate = 2006-12-03}}</ref>

=== Opponents in 2008 election theory ===

Some believe that the public assassination of Litvinenko shows the growing fight between Kremlin clans is "spinning out of control" ahead of the [[Russian presidential election, 2008|2008 Russian presidential elections]], in which Putin said he would not run for a third term.<ref>{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Radioactive Trail Follows Litvinenko
| work =
| publisher = ''[[St. Petersburg Times]]''
| date = [[November 28]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.times.spb.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=19601
| accessdate = 2006-12-02 }}</ref>

=== Suicide theory ===

Some observers have suggested the death was suicide; the finding of radioactive material at several locations, including Litvinenko's house has led to some suggesting that Litvinenko killed himself to discredit the Russian government.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Goodchild
| first =Sophie and Elliott, Francis
| title = Litvinenko: police probe claims he may have killed himself
| work =
| publisher = ''[[The Independent]]''
| date = [[November 26]] [[2006]]
| url = http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article2016151.ece
| accessdate = 2006-11-27 }}</ref> These theories have now been discounted by the investigating police, although no reason has been given for the ending of any suicide theory.

=== Blackmail plot theory ===

According to ''[[The Observer]]'', a Russian student, [[Julia Svetlichnaja]], alleged that Litvinenko openly told her that he was intending to blackmail senior Russian officials and businessmen. She also claimed that she had become increasingly concerned about his numerous emails alleging a great variety of plots, particularly noting his claim that Putin was a paedophile.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Svetlichnaja
| first = Julia
| title = Strange stroll around Hyde Park that went nowhere
| publisher = [[The Observer]]
| date = [[3 December]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,1962793,00.html
| accessdate = 2006-12-04 }}</ref> The Observer claimed his "access to such documents could have made him an enemy of both [[Big Business|big business]] interests and the Kremlin".<ref name="blackmail plot"/> However, Soviet dissident [[Vladimir Bukovsky]], a friend of Aleksander Litvinenko, has argued that this version is obviously untrue.<ref>{{ru icon}}{{cite web
| title = Дело Александра Литвиненко не сходит со страниц британской прессы
| work =
| publisher = [[Radio Liberty]]
| date = [[4 December]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.svobodanews.ru/Transcript/2006/12/04/20061204210301940.html
| accessdate = 2006-12-05 }}</ref>

After the above, it has now been alleged by [[Aftenposten]], a Norwegian newspaper, that Svetlichnaja may have been part of a Russian government plot to discredit Litvinenko and the whole theory of Russian government involvement by making Litvinenko appear to be an odd individual with many unfounded stories. Allegations in interviews with the British press by Svetlichnaja were made about Litvinenko being obsessed with being hunted by Russian agents. It is alleged Svetlichnaja is operating under a [[front company]] as [[non-official cover]] for the Russian government in order to ensure Litvinenko was made to be seen as a paranoid individual. The newspaper made a call to speak to the director of the Russian company concerned that Svetlichnaja is alleged to be listed involved in. The director, [[Alexei Yashechkin]], said "it was probably someone of a similar name" and the director became increasingly hesitant on the phone before hanging up.<ref>http://www.aftenposten.no/english/world/article1559336.ece</ref>

Another article by Svetlichnaja and [[James Heartfield]] in the ''[[Daily Telegraph]]'' does not support the theory of blackmailing plans.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Final interview of the poisoned former spy
| publisher = Telegraph
| date = [[25 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/11/25/npoison225.xml
| accessdate = 2006-12-07 }}</ref>

=== Al Qaida link ===

It is reported that [[MI6]] had learnt that [[Al Qaida]] had offered millions of dollars to anyone that could supply them with Polonium. By an interception of a [[Telephone call|phone call]] in [[Peshawar]], [[GCHQ]] learnt information that Al Qaida were actively seeking Polonium. This has now been passed to investigators to find out whether Litvinenko was in any way connected with attempting to supply Polonium.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Farah
| first = Joseph
| title = Fears raised Litvinenko helped al-Qaida with 'dirty bomb' plot
| publisher = WorldNetDaily
| date = [[3 December]] [[2006]]
| url = http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53208
| accessdate = 2006-12-03 }}</ref>

=== Erinsys and the Iraqi National Congress ===

It has been reported that Litvinenko visited the London office of the a British private military contractor Erinsys. The company is believed to have links to the Iraqi National Congress and also linked with [[Ahmad Chalabi]]. This will become another avenue of enquiry in the investigation.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Madsen
| first = Wayne
| title = Litvinenko Suspected of Smuggling Nuclear Materials
| publisher = ''Wayne Madsen Report''
| date = [[December 4]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_wayne_ma_061204_litvinenko_suspected.htm
| accessdate = 2006-12-05}}</ref>

=== Russian cooperation and extradition ===

Prosecutor-General Yuri Chaika said, "we will do everything to provide legal assistance to our colleagues", referring to Scotland Yard detectives. However, Chaika went on to say that "the person who is accused will be convicted by a Russian court". It is reported that [[Andrei Lugovoi]] will be interviewed by British detectives on [[December 6]] [[2006]]. <ref>http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/06/europe/EU_GEN_Russia_Britain_Poisoned_Spy.php</ref>

== Further people contaminated or related to the case ==
=== Yegor Gaidar ===

The sudden illness of [[Yegor Gaidar]] in [[Ireland]] on [[November 24]], the day of Litvinenko's death, has been linked to his visit to the restaurant where polonium was present and is being investigated as part of the overall investigation in the UK and Ireland.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Anderson
| first =Paul
| title = Kildare incident linked to Litvinenko death
| work =
| publisher = [[The Irish Times]]
| date = [[November 29]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2006/1129/breaking82.htm
| accessdate = 2006-11-30 }}</ref> However, other observers noted he was probably poisoned after drinking a strange-tasting [[Tea|cup of tea]]. Gaidar was taken to hospital; doctors said his condition is not life-threatening and that he will recover.<ref>{{ru icon}}{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Gaidar's family and friends refuse to say which hospital he is located in, for fear of his life
| work =
| publisher = [[Newsru]]
| date = [[November 30]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.newsru.com/russia/30nov2006/gaidar.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-30 }}</ref><ref>{{ru icon}}{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = White Noise
| work =
| publisher =
| date = [[November 30]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.ej.ru/dayTheme/entry/5498/
| accessdate = 2006-11-30}}</ref> This incident was similar to the poisoning of [[Anna Politkovskaya]] on a flight to [[Beslan]].

=== Mario Scaramella ===

The [[United Kingdom]]'s [[Health Protection Agency]] (HPA) announced that significant quantities of polonium-210 had been found in [[Mario Scaramella]] although his health was found to be normal. He has been admitted to hospital for tests and monitoring.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Davies
| first =Andrew
| title = Positive radiation test
| work =
| publisher = [[Channel4]]
| date = [[1 December]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.channel4.com/news/special-reports/special-reports-storypage.jsp?id=4049
| accessdate = 2006-12-02 }}</ref> Doctors say that Scaramella was exposed to a much lower level of polonium-210 than Litvinenko had been exposed to, and that preliminary tests found "no evidence of radiation toxicity".<ref>{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Italian undergoing tests in poisoned spy case
| work =
| publisher = [[Associated Press]]
| date = [[2 December]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16002222/
| accessdate = 2006-12-02 }}</ref>

Police are likely to be investigating Scaramella's allegation that Litvinenko was involved in smuggling radioactive material to Zurich in 2000.<ref>{{cite web
| last =Milmo
| first =Cahal
| coauthors =Popham, Peter and Bennetto, Jason
| title = Litvinenko 'smuggled nuclear material'
| publisher = [[The Independent]]
| date = [[29 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article2023856.ece
| accessdate = 2006-12-02}}</ref>

=== Litvinenko's widow ===

UK reports state Litvinenko's widow tested positive for polonium, though she is not seriously ill. The Ashdown Park hotel in [[Sussex]] has been evacuated as a precaution, possibly to do with Scaramella's previous visit there.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Pair test positive for polonium
| publisher = [[BBC]]
| date = [[01 December]] [[2006]]
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6199464.stm
| accessdate = 2006-12-02}}</ref>

=== Akhmed Zakayev ===

The [[Forensics|forensic investigation]] also includes the silver Mercedes by Litvinenko's home believed to be owned by [[Akhmed Zakayev]], the [[foreign minister]] of the rebel [[government in exile]] from [[Chechnya]].<ref>{{cite web
| last = Stebbings
| first = Peter
| title = Radiation scare at home of poisoned ex-spy
| publisher = This Is Hertfordshire
| date = [[November 30]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.thisishertfordshire.co.uk/news/roundup/display.var.1048696.0.radiation_scare_at_home_of_poisoned_exspy.php
| accessdate = 2006-11-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| title = Moves to allay health fears after radiation found
| publisher = [[The Daily Telegraph]]
| date = [[November 28]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/health/2006/11/28/npoison125.xml
| accessdate = 2006-11-30}}</ref> Reports now state that traces of radioactive material were found in the vehicle.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Polonium for Litvinenko’s Murder Transported in Car of Chechen Emissary Ahmed Zakayev
| publisher = [[The Daily Telegraph]]
| date = [[December 2]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n100761
| accessdate = 2006-12-02}}</ref>

== TV drama commissioned ==

It has been reported that [[Channel 4]] in the UK has signed [[Mentorn]] Productions to make a television drama on the Litvinenko poisioning, and that [[Peter Kosminsky]] will be directing.<ref>http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7005782642</ref>

== Chronology of events ==
* 7 June 1994: A remote-controlled bomb detonated aiming at chauffeured Mercedes 600 with oligarch Boris Berezovsky and his bodyguard in the rear seat. Driver died but Berezovsky left the car unscathed. Litvinenko, then with the organized-crime unit of the FSB, was an investigating officer of the [[Assassination|assassination attempt]]. The case was never solved, but it was at this point that Litvinenko befriended Berezovsky.

* 17 November 1998: At a time that [[Vladimir Putin]] was the [[Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation#Heads of the FSB or equivalent|head of the FSB]], five officers including [[Lieutenant Colonel|Lieutenant-Colonel]] Litvinenko accuse the Director of the Directorate for the Analysis of [[Criminal organization|Criminal Organizations]] [[Major General|Major-General]] Eugeny Hoholkhov and his deputy, 1st Rank Captain Alexander Kamishnikov, of ordering them to assassinate Boris Berezovsky in [[1997|November 1997]].

* 1999: [[Russian apartment bombings]]. Duma, on a pro-Kremlin party [[Bloc voting|block vote]], voted to seal all materials related to Ryazan incident for the next 75 years and forbade an investigation of what really happened.
* 1999 to Present: [[Second Chechen War]].
* 31 December 1999: [[Vladimir Putin]] succeeds [[Boris Yeltsin]] after he resigned due to bad health.
* 26 March 2000: [[Russian presidential election, 2000|Presidential elections]], [[Putin]] elected.
* 14 March 2004: Putin [[Russian presidential election, 2004|re-elected]], opponent was [[Ivan Rybkin]].
* 7 October 2006: The Russian journalist and Kremlin critic [[Anna Politkovskaya]] is shot in [[Moscow]].
* 19 October 2006: Litvinenko accuses President Putin of the Politkovskaya murder.
* 31 October 2006: Dimitri Kovtun comes to [[London]] from [[Hamburg, Germany]].
* 1 November 2006: Litvinenko meets with the former KGB agents [[Andrei Lugovoi]], Dimitri Kovtun and Vyacheslav Sokolenko in the Millenium Hotel in London. Later, at the [[Itsu]] sushi restaurant on Picadilly, he meets the [[Italy|Italian]] security expert [[Mario Scaramella]], who hands alleged evidence to him concerning the murder of Politkovskaya. On the same day Litvinenko becomes ill.
* 3 November 2006: Litvinenko is brought into [[Barnet General Hospital]].
* 11 November 2006: Litvinenko tells the [[BBC]] he was poisoned and is in very bad condition.
* 17 November 2006: Litvinenko is moved to [[University College Hospital]] and placed under armed guard.
* 19 November 2006: Reports emerge that Litvinenko has been poisoned with thallium, a [[chemical element]] used in the past as a [[rat poison]].
* 20 November 2006: Litvinenko is moved to the [[Intensive Care Unit]]. The police take statements from people with close relation to Litvinenko. A [[Kremlin]] speaker denies the Russian government is involved in the poisoning.
* 22 November 2006: The hospital announces that Litvinenko's condition has worsened substantially.
* 23 November 2006: Litvinenko dies at 9:21 P.M.
* 24 November 2006: Litvinenko's dictated deathbed statement is published. He accuses President Vladimir Putin of being responsible for his death. [[Moscow Kremlin|The Kremlin]] rejects the accusation. The [[Health Protection Agency|HPA]] announces that significant amounts of Polonium-210 have been found in Litvinenko's body. Traces of the same substance are also found at Litvinenko's house in North London, at [[Itsu]] and at the Millenium Hotel.
* 24 November 2006 [[Sergei Abeltsev]], [[State Duma]] member from the [[LDPR]], in his Duma address he commented the death of Litvinenko with the following words: ''The deserved punishment reached the traitor. I am sure his terrible death will be a warning to all the traitors that in Russia the treason is not to be forgiven. I would recommend to citizen Berezovsky to avoid any food at the commemorative feast for Litvinenko'' [http://wbase.duma.gov.ru/steno/nph-sdb.exe?B0CW%5bF11&24.11.2006&F11&&F11&&F258&^&%5dH2512 ]
* 24 November 2006: The [[Policing in the United Kingdom|British police]] state they are investigating the death as a possible poisoning.
* 28 November 2006: [[Scotland Yard]] announces that traces of Polonium-210 have been found in seven different [[List of places in London|places in London]]. Among them, an office of the Russian billionaire [[Boris Berezovsky]], an avowed opponent of Putin.
* 29 November 2006: The HPA announces screening of the nurses and physicians who treated Litvinenko. The authorities find traces of a radioactive substance on board [[British Airways]] planes.
* 30 November 2006: Polonium-210 traces are found on a number of other planes, most of them going to [[Moscow]].
* 1 December 2006: An autopsy is performed on the body of Litvinenko. Scaramella tests positive for Polonium-210 and is admitted into a hospital. Litvinenko's widow also tests positive for Polonium-210, but was not sent to the hospital for treatment.
* 2 December 2006: Scotland Yard's counter-terrorist unit have questioned [[Yuri Shvets]], a former KGB spy who emigrated to the United States in 1993. He was questioned as a witness in Washington in the presence of FBI officers. Shvets claimed that he has a "lead that can explain what happened".
* 6 December 2006: Scotland Yard announced that it is treating his death as a murder. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061206/ap_on_re_eu/britain_poisoned_spy]
* 7 December 2006: Dmitry Kovtun reportedly lapses into a Coma.

== Comparisons to other deaths ==
Comparisons have been made to the alleged [[2004]] poisoning of [[Viktor Yushchenko]], the alleged [[2003]] poisoning of [[Yuri Shchekochikhin]] and the fatal [[1978]] poisoning of the journalist [[Georgi Markov]] by the [[Bulgaria]]n [[Committee for State Security]]. The incident with Litvinenko has also attracted comparisons to the poisoning by radioactive thallium of KGB defector [[Nikolay Khokhlov]] and journalist [[Yuri Shchekochikhin]] of ''[[Novaya Gazeta]]'' (the ''Novaya Gazeta'' interview with the former, coincidentally, prepared by Russian journalist [[Anna Politkovskaya]], who was later found shot to death in her [[apartment building]]).<ref>{{ru icon}}{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = ВСТРЕЧА С ПРОШЛЫМ
| work =
| publisher = [[Novaya Gazeta]]
| date = [[1 January]] [[2004]]
| url = http://2004.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2004/46n/n46n-s10.shtml
| accessdate = 2006-11-21 }}</ref> Like Litvinenko, Shchekochikhin had investigated the Russian apartment bombings (he was a member of the [[Sergei Kovalev|Kovalev]] Commission that hired Litvinenko's friend [[Mikhail Trepashkin]] as a [[Lawyer|legal counsel]]).

Former KGB officer [[Oleg Gordievsky]] believes the murders of [[Zelimkhan Yandarbiev]], Yuri Shchekochikhin, and Anna Politkovskaya and the incident with Aleksander Litvinenko show that [[FSB (Russia)|FSB]] has returned to the practice of political assassinations,<ref>{{ru icon}}{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title = Бывший резидент КГБ Олег Гордиевский не сомневается в причастности к отравлению Литвиненко российских спецслужб
| work =
| publisher = svobodanews.ru
| date = [[20 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.svobodanews.ru/Transcript/2006/11/20/20061120204213113.html
| accessdate = 2006-11-24 }}</ref> which were conducted in the past by Thirteenth [[KGB]] Department.<ref name="Andrew"> [[Christopher Andrew]] and [[Vasili Mitrokhin]], ''The [[Mitrokhin Archive]]: The KGB in Europe and the West'', [[Gardners Books]] (2000), ISBN 0-14-028487-7 </ref> A comparison was also made with [http://www.jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2368580 Roman Tsepov] who was responsible for personal protection of [[Anatoly Sobchak]] and Vladimir Putin, and who died in Russia in 2004 from poisoning by an unknown radioactive substance.<ref>{{ru icon}}{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| title =ДЛЯ ВНУТРЕННЕГО УПОТРЕБЛЕНИ
| work =
| publisher = ''[[Novaya Gazeta]]''
| date = [[30 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://2006.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2006/91n/n91n-s00.shtml
| accessdate = 2006-12-02 }}</ref> Officers of FSB "special forces" liked to use Litvinenko photos for the target practice in shooting galleries, according to Russian journalist [[Yulia Latynina]].<ref>{{ru icon}}{{cite web
| last = Latynina
| first = Yulia
| title = Вам удастся заставить молчать одного человека
| work =
| publisher =
| date = [[28 November]] [[2006]]
| url = http://www.ej.ru/dayTheme/entry/5474/
| accessdate = 2006-11-28 }}</ref>
-->
== Lihat pula ==
== Lihat pula ==
* [[Pembunuhan di luar hukum]]
*[[Hukuman tanpa peradilan]]
* [[Sergei Skripal]], mantan pegawai militer Rusia yang diduga diracun oleh agen rahasia Rusia


== Rujukan ==
== Referensi ==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist|2}}


== Pranala luar ==
== Pranala luar ==
* {{en}} [http://thefinalphaseforum.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=660&st=0 The Litvinenko Chronicles]
* {{en}} [http://thefinalphaseforum.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=660&st=0 The Litvinenko Chronicles] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224054848/http://thefinalphaseforum.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=660&st=0 |date=2010-12-24 }}
*[http://eng.terror99.ru/ Terror99] Informasi tentang [[pengeboman apartemen di Rusia]] dan buku-buku oleh Alexander Litvinenko
* [http://eng.terror99.ru/ Terror99] Informasi tentang [[pengeboman apartemen di Rusia]] dan buku-buku oleh Alexander Litvinenko
* {{ru}} {{en}} [http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-7225032942379831216&q=Anna+Politkovskaya Alexander Litvinenko at the Frontline Club accusing Vladimir Putin of the assassination of journalist Anna Politkovskaya]
* {{ru}} {{en}} [http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-7225032942379831216&q=Anna+Politkovskaya Alexander Litvinenko at the Frontline Club accusing Vladimir Putin of the assassination of journalist Anna Politkovskaya] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210162444/http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-7225032942379831216&q=Anna+Politkovskaya |date=2012-02-10 }}
* {{en}} [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2469176,00.html The article] oleh [[sutradara]] film [[Andrei Nekrasov]] di ''[[The Times]]''
* {{en}} [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2469176,00.html The article] oleh [[sutradara]] film [[Andrei Nekrasov]] di ''[[The Times]]''
* {{en}} [http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=7658755847655738553&q=disbelief Saksikan film Andrei Nekrasov "Disbelief (Loose change in Russia 1999)" yang mengisahkan kembali buku "Blowing up Russia: Terror from within" oleh Alexander Litvinenko]
* {{en}} [http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=7658755847655738553&q=disbelief Saksikan film Andrei Nekrasov "Disbelief (Loose change in Russia 1999)" yang mengisahkan kembali buku "Blowing up Russia: Terror from within" oleh Alexander Litvinenko] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217174219/http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=7658755847655738553&q=disbelief |date=2012-02-17 }}
* {{en}} [http://www.westbournemouthukip.com/Battenonprodi.html UKIP MEP Gerard Batten reveals some information given to him by Alexander Litvinenko]
* {{en}} [http://www.westbournemouthukip.com/Battenonprodi.html UKIP MEP Gerard Batten reveals some information given to him by Alexander Litvinenko] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061127101317/http://www.westbournemouthukip.com/Battenonprodi.html |date=2006-11-27 }}
* {{en}} [http://www.countercurrents.org/avnery020804.htm "The Oligarchs"; Former Knesset Member Uri Avnery on how Berezovsky et. al. amassed their wealth]
* {{en}} [http://www.countercurrents.org/avnery020804.htm "The Oligarchs"; Former Knesset Member Uri Avnery on how Berezovsky et. al. amassed their wealth]
* {{en}} [http://www.unitednuclear.com/isotopes.htm An American company which legally sells small quantities of Polonium-210 over the internet]
* {{en}} [http://www.unitednuclear.com/isotopes.htm An American company which legally sells small quantities of Polonium-210 over the internet]


[[Category:Dugaan pembunuhan politik]]
[[Kategori:Dugaan pembunuhan politik]]
[[Category:Kejadian 2006 di Britania Raya]]
[[Kategori:Kejadian 2006 di Britania Raya]]
[[Category:Kejadian 2006 di Rusia]]
[[Kategori:Kejadian 2006 di Rusia]]
[[Category:Kejadiani 2006 dalam politik]]
[[Kategori:Kejadiani 2006 dalam politik]]

[[en:Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko]]

Revisi terkini sejak 15 Juni 2024 13.30


Pada 1 November 2006, Alexander Litvinenko mendadak jatuh sakit dan dirawat di rumah sakit. Ia meninggal dunia tiga minggu kemudian dan diketahui menjadi korban kedua dari peristiwa keracunan radiasi polonium-210 yang mematikan. Kenyataan bahwa penyingkapan rahasia oleh Litvinenko tentang kejahatan-kejahatan FSB yang kemudian diikuti oleh peracunannya — dan tuduhan-tuduhan terbukanya bahwa pemerintah Rusia berada di balik penderitaannya — menyebabkan kasus ini diberitakan di media di seluruh dunia.

Pemerintah Britania menyelidiki kasus kematiannya dan dilaporkan pada 1 Desember 2006 bahwa para ilmuwan di Atomic Weapons Establishment Britania telah menelusuri sumber poloniumnya ke sebuah pembangkit tenaga listrik di Rusia.[1] Pada 3 Desember 2006, laporan-laporan menyatakan bahwa Britania telah menuntut hak untuk berbicara sekurang-kurangnya dengan lima orang Rusia yang dituduh terlibat dalam kematian Litvinenko dan Menteri Luar Negeri Rusia Sergey Lavrov menegaskan bahwa Moskwa bersedia menjawab "pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang konkret."[2] Jaksa Agung Rusia Yury Chaika berkata hari Selasa, 5 Desember 2006 bahwa warga Rusia manapun yang dituduh melakukan peracunan ini akan diadili di Rusia, bukan di Britania.[3] Lebih lanjut, Chaika menyatakan bahwa jaksa-jaksa Rusia akan mengajukan pertanyaan apapun kepada warga-warga Rusia di hadapan detektif-detektif Britania.[4]

Penyakit dan keracunan

[sunting | sunting sumber]

Pada 1 November 2006, Litvinenko mendadak jatuh sakit. Dalam berbagai wawancara, ia menyatakan bahwa ia berjumpa dengan dua bekas agen KGB sebelumnya hari itu, salah satunya adalah Andrei Lugovoi, seorang mantan pengawal bekas PM Rusia Yegor Gaidar (juga dilaporkan keracunan pada November 2006). Belakangan, ia dikabarkan sedang makan siang di Itsu, sebuah restoran sushi di Piccadilly di London, dengan seorang kenalan orang Italia, Mario Scaramella, dan kepadanya ia melaporkan tuduhan-tuduhan mengenai Romano Prodi.[5] Scaramella, yang terkait dengan Komisi Mitrokhin yang menyelidiki penetrasi KGB terhadap politik Italia, mengklaim mempunyai informasi mengenai kematian Anna Politkovskaya, 48, seorang wartawati yang dibunuh di apartemennya di Moskwa pada Oktober 2006. Ia menyerahkan kepada Litvinenko dokumen-dokumen yang konon berkaitan dengan nasib Politkovskaya. Pada 20 November, dilaporkan bahwa Scaramella telah bersembunyi dan ketakutan bahwa nyawanya terancam.[6] Oleg Gordievsky, seorang kenalan lama Litvinenko dan seorang bekas kolonel KGB lainnya yang telah membelot ke Britania Raya, mengatakan kepada BBC bahwa ia yakin Litvinenko diracuni di flat seorang teman lama Rusia, yang minum teh sebelumnya bersama Litvinenko sebelum ia pergi ke restoran sushi. Gaidar sendiri mendadak diserang sebuah penyakit yang tidak dijelaskan pada 24 November.[7]

Keracunan Litvinenko kini dihubungkan dengan radionuklida polonium-210 setelah Badan Perlindungan Kesehatan menemukan jumlah yang cukup besar dari unsur yang jarang dan beracun ini dalam tubuhnya. Keracunan ini dilaporkan secara luas dalam media Britania sejak 18 November 2006, meskipun di negara-negara lain sudah dilaporkan selama beberapa hari sebelumnya.[8]

Talium - hipotesis awal

[sunting | sunting sumber]

Scotland Yard mulanya menyelidiki klaim-klaim bahwa Litvinenko diracuni dengan talium. Dilaporkan bahwa tes-tes awal tampaknya mengukuhkan kehadiran racun ini.[9][10]

Lihat pula

[sunting | sunting sumber]

Referensi

[sunting | sunting sumber]
  1. ^ Kesalahan pengutipan: Tag <ref> tidak sah; tidak ditemukan teks untuk ref bernama corpse
  2. ^ Brady, Brian (3 Desember 1998). "Spy death: 5 Russians wanted". The Scotsman. Diakses tanggal 3 Des. 2006. 
  3. ^ "Russia says no extradition for Litvinenko suspects". Reuters. 5 Desember 2006. Diakses tanggal 5 Des. 2006.  [pranala nonaktif permanen]
  4. ^ Buckley, Neil (5 Desember 2006). "Russians set limits in helping polonium death case". Financial Times. Diakses tanggal 5 Des. 2006. 
  5. ^ Batten, Gerard (3 April 2006). "Gerard Batten MEP - "60 second speech to the European Parliament "Romano Prodi" - Strasbourg". UKIP. Diarsipkan dari versi asli tanggal 2006-10-13. Diakses tanggal 21 Nov. 2006. 
  6. ^ Owen, Richard (20 November 2006). "Exile's contact in hiding after 'being made a scapegoat'". The Times. Diakses tanggal 21 Nov. 2006. 
  7. ^ Ostrovsky, Arkady (28 November 2006). "Mystery illness hits former Russian PM". The Financial Times. Diarsipkan dari versi asli tanggal 2007-05-27. Diakses tanggal 2006-12-07. 
  8. ^ "Litvinenko Didn't Digest Information". Kommersant. 13 November 2006. Diarsipkan dari versi asli tanggal 2007-09-27. Diakses tanggal 30 Nov. 2006. 
  9. ^ Townsend, Mark (19 November 2006). "Poisoning of Russian agent raises fears of UK vendetta". The Guardian . Diakses tanggal 21 Nov. 2006. 
  10. ^ Murphy, Kim (21 November 2006). "Who poisoned a former KGB agent?". Los Angeles Times . Diakses tanggal 21 Nov. 2006. 

Pranala luar

[sunting | sunting sumber]
Diperoleh dari "https://wiki-indonesia.club/w/index.php?title=Peracunan_Alexander_Litvinenko&oldid=25836287"