Ex-spy’s poisoning may be linked to inquiries
LONDON — A former Russian spy poisoned in Britain and now hospitalized under armed guard may have been targeted because of his criticism of former colleagues and his investigation of the killing of a prominent anti-Kremlin journalist, friends and fellow dissidents said Sunday.
Col. Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent, said last week that he fell ill Nov. 1 after a meal with a contact who claimed to have details about the slaying of Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian journalist gunned down Oct. 7 in Moscow.
A doctor treating Litvinenko told the BBC that tests showed he had been poisoned with thallium -- a toxic metal found in rat poison. He is under armed guard at University College Hospital in London.
Litvinenko left Russia for Britain six years ago and has become an outspoken critic of the Kremlin.
In an interview with the Sunday Times before his condition worsened, Litvinenko described having lunch with an Italian contact who claimed to have information on Politkovskaya’s killing, which has not been solved.
British news outlets have identified the contact as Mario Scaramella, an Italian academic who helped investigate KGB activity in Italy during the Cold War.
Police have launched an investigation of the poisoning, a spokesman said.
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