Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: U.K. govt. misleading public on Litvinenko case

 
U.K. govt. misleading public on Litvinenko case - Lugovoi 
 
 
 
MOSCOW, July 17 (RIA Novosti) - The U.K.'s latest moves against Russia are
designed to draw the public's attention away from the investigation of the
"Litvinenko case," agent-turned-businessman Andrei Lugovoi said Tuesday. 
Russia condemned as "Russophobic" the planned expulsion of four diplomats
from Britain over Moscow's refusal to extradite a key suspect in the
murder of former security officer Alexander Litvinenko in London. Russia
called the decision "immoral," warning of an inevitable political backlash
after U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband announced the move. 
"This is being done to divert public opinion from the real investigation
that is being conducted by the Russian Prosecutor General's Office and the
Federal Security Service (FSB)," Lugovoi said in an interview with Russia
Today television. 
He said British officials are misleading the public. 
"I am convinced that British intelligence is directly involved in stoking
this scandal, influencing U.K. officials. I don't know exactly how.
Probably through considerations of political expediency," Lugovoi said. 
He also said he doubts the independence of the British justice system, and
that he also distrusts British investigators. 
Moscow is studying London's official position on the expulsion of Russian
diplomats over an ongoing extradition dispute to decide on an appropriate
response, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said. 
"Thirty minutes prior to the [British] foreign secretary's speech in the
House of Commons, the ambassador of the Russian Federation in London was
summoned to the Foreign Office, where, with reference to the country's
government's decision, he was officially given a note on our diplomats'
expulsion," Mikhail Kamynin said. 
Shares of Russian companies traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) fell
between 0.3% and 4% on news of the U.K. measures against Russia. 
Miliband said Monday negotiations between Russia and the European Union
over facilitating the visa regime would be suspended and visa restrictions
introduced for Russian officials. A spokesman for the British Embassy in
Moscow clarified that the restrictions would not concern tourists or other
ordinary citizens. 
Lugovoi, who met Litvinenko on the day he fell ill in London, told
journalists that London's decision to expel Russian diplomats was a clear
attempt to politicize the case. 
Litvinenko died in a London hospital in November 2006. British experts
said they discovered the radioactive isotope Polonium-210 in his body, but
have not yet published an official autopsy report. 
In a deathbed note, purportedly written by Litvinenko, who received
British citizenship shortly before his death, he blamed President Vladimir
Putin for his murder, an allegation the Kremlin dismissed. 
Early last week, British prosecutors said they had received Russia's
official refusal to extradite Lugovoi, which cited the Russian
Constitution as saying Russian citizens could not be handed over to other
countries, and proposed trying Lugovoi in Russia if Britain provides
sufficient evidence. 
However, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the
country's authorities could not be sure a Russian trial would be unbiased. 
In his address to parliament, Miliband also urged Russia to consider
changing its Constitution to make international legal cooperation more
efficient, including in the extradition of criminal suspects. 
Russia in turn wants Britain to extradite two of its own suspects,
fugitive tycoon Boris Berezovsky and Chechen emissary Akhmed Zakayev. 
Berezovsky is accused of fraud and plotting a coup, while Zakayev is
facing terrorism charges. Both have been granted British passports. 
Russian diplomatic spokesman Kamynin said: "We have the impression that
British authorities are trying to justify their refusal to cooperate with
Russian law enforcement officials on the extradition of Zakayev and
Berezovsky, against whom we have undeniable evidence of terrorism." 
-- 
visitate 
http://www.comunisti-italiani.it/frames/index.htm
 
http://www.italia-cuba.it/associazione/associazione.htm
questo articolo e` stato inviato via web dal servizio gratuito 
http://www.newsland.it/news
 segnala gli abusi ad 
ab...@newsland.it

 al Piumato.
a te piaccione le fonti neonaziste sovvenzionate da Pat Buchanan del
resto, giusto guardone di it.sesso.annunci ? lol