[cia-drugs] Suspicion lingers over a string of deaths
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/14/wbillionaire614.xml Suspicion lingers over a string of deaths By Caroline Gammell Last Updated: 1:49am GMT 14/02/2008 Badri Patarkatsishvili is the latest in a series of former Soviet Union exiles and their associates whose deaths in Britain raised suspicions over the activities of the Russian security service and its allies. In November 2006, Alexander Litvinenko suffered a drawn-out death after being poisoned in a London hotel. He had met Andrei Lugovoi, a former KGB bodyguard, before having lunch at a sushi restaurant with an Italian acquaintance, Mario Scaramella, on Nov 1. He fell ill later that day and a photograph taken in hospital showing his gaunt features was published around the world. In March 2004, Stephen Curtis, a lawyer closely linked to Kremlin opponents such as the exile Boris Berezovsky, died in a helicopter crash. Mr Curtis was managing director of the Menatep Group, which had oil interests in Russia. There was speculation that his death was not accidental although no connection to the Russian authorities was ever proved. Mr Curtis reportedly said shortly before the crash that if he died mysteriously, it would not be an accident. Last year, Mr Berezovsky revealed that a plot to murder him had been foiled by the British security services. He said he was told that an assassin had been sent from Russia and he was advised to leave Britain. He said: I went overseas for a week and then the police informed me that I could return. I have been asked by the police not to go into detail about the assassination attempt. All of these threats bear the hallmarks of Russian security service activity. In the Soviet era, the Bulgarian dissident and playwright Georgi Markov was assassinated in London in 1978. He was killed by a poison dart fired from the tip of an umbrella into his leg as he waited for a bus near Waterloo Bridge. KGB agents and the Bulgarian secret police were believed to be behind the killing.
Re: [cia-drugs] Suspicion lingers over a string of deaths
Why not suspect British as much as Russians? Michael http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/14/wbillionaire614.xml Suspicion lingers over a string of deaths By Caroline Gammell Last Updated: 1:49am GMT 14/02/2008 Badri Patarkatsishvili is the latest in a series of former Soviet Union exiles and their associates whose deaths in Britain raised suspicions over the activities of the Russian security service and its allies. In November 2006, Alexander Litvinenko suffered a drawn-out death after being poisoned in a London hotel. He had met Andrei Lugovoi, a former KGB bodyguard, before having lunch at a sushi restaurant with an Italian acquaintance, Mario Scaramella, on Nov 1. He fell ill later that day and a photograph taken in hospital showing his gaunt features was published around the world. In March 2004, Stephen Curtis, a lawyer closely linked to Kremlin opponents such as the exile Boris Berezovsky, died in a helicopter crash. Mr Curtis was managing director of the Menatep Group, which had oil interests in Russia. There was speculation that his death was not accidental although no connection to the Russian authorities was ever proved. Mr Curtis reportedly said shortly before the crash that if he died mysteriously, it would not be an accident. Last year, Mr Berezovsky revealed that a plot to murder him had been foiled by the British security services. He said he was told that an assassin had been sent from Russia and he was advised to leave Britain. He said: I went overseas for a week and then the police informed me that I could return. I have been asked by the police not to go into detail about the assassination attempt. All of these threats bear the hallmarks of Russian security service activity. In the Soviet era, the Bulgarian dissident and playwright Georgi Markov was assassinated in London in 1978. He was killed by a poison dart fired from the tip of an umbrella into his leg as he waited for a bus near Waterloo Bridge. KGB agents and the Bulgarian secret police were believed to be behind the killing.
