Russian spy accused Putin before death
Friday, 24 Nov 2006 21:38
Friends of Alexander Litvinenko claim he was deliberately poisoned
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The former Russian spy who died last night after apparently being poisoned pointed the finger at Vladimir Putin before his death, it emerged today.
Alexander Litvinenko died in hospital last night, three weeks after he fell ill in London as a result of the alleged poison attack.
But his friend, Alex Goldfarb, told reporters today that the 43-year-old had written a letter before his death in which he called the Russian president "barbaric and ruthless".
Mr Goldfarb said that the statement had been dictated to him on Tuesday by Mr Litvinenko as he neared his death and that it had been then printed out and signed by the former Russian secret service agent in the presence of his wife.
After thanking his doctors, family and the British police Mr Litvinenko expressed his pride at being a British citizen and then turned his focus towards Mr Putin.
"As I lie here I can distinctly hear the beating wings of the angel of death. I may give him the slip but my legs do not run as fast anymore," the statement said according to Mr Goldfarb.
He added to Mr Putin: "You have shown yourself to be as barbaric and ruthless as your most hostile critics have claimed. You have shown yourself to have no respect for life or liberty.
"You may succeed in silencing one man but a howl of protest from around the world will reverberate Mr Putin in your ears for the rest of your life. May God forgive you for what you have done."
Mr Litvinenko's father, Walter, also spoke to reporters outside the University College Hospital where his son died.
Through an interpreter he said: "A terrible thing has happened to me. My son died yesterday and he was killed by a little tiny nuclear bomb.
"But the people who killed him have nuclear bombs and missiles and these people should not be trusted."
He added: "He was very courageous when he met his death and I am proud of my son. He was a very honest and good man and I loved him very much and now he is not with us."
Although Scotland Yard have not launched a murder inquiry, they have confirmed that they are investigating the "unexplained death" of Mr Litvinenko, who fell ill on November 1st following two meetings with contacts in London.
Friends of the former Russian agent claim that he was poisoned while investigating the killing of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, an outspoken critic of the Kremlin's Chechen policy, who was found gunned down in her Moscow apartment building in October.
However, the Kremlin has again dismissed allegations that it was somehow involved in causing the illness of Mr Litvinenko, a known critic of Mr Putin.
In comments reported by the Times this morning, an aide to Mr Putin said that the accusations against the Kremlin were "so incredible, so silly" that it would be inappropriate for the Russian president to comment on them.
It is still unknown exactly what caused Mr Litvinenko's death, but medics at University College Hospital yesterday said they "were convinced" that his condition was not the result of him being poisoned by a heavy metal such as thallium, as had previously been suggested, while also appearing to rule out the possibility of radiation poisoning.