London - An inquest into the death of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko should consider whether Russian authorities were involved, the senior British judge who will oversee it said Thursday.
Litvinenko's family believes the Kremlin was behind his death from radioactive poisoning in London in November 2006. Ben Emmerson, a lawyer for Litvinenko's widow, Marina, told a court hearing that it was vital that the inquest investigate “the criminal role of the Russian state.”
Emmerson said that if official Russian involvement was proved, it would constitute “an act of state-sponsored nuclear terrorism on the streets of London.”
Judge Robert Owen, who will lead the inquest, said its scope would be decided at a later hearing, but indicated he was inclined to agree it should look at Russia's alleged role.
Owen said it was “to be regretted” that no inquest has been held in the nearly six years since the former security service officer died. Owen said he would open his inquest as early in 2013 as possible.
Litvinenko, a critic of the Kremlin, died in London after ingesting polonium-210, a rare radioactive isotope.
On his deathbed he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being behind his poisoning, and the killing cast a pall over U.K.-Russian relations that still persists.
British prosecutors have accused two Russians, Alexander Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, of killing Litvinenko, but Russia refuses to hand them over. Lugovoi is now a Russian lawmaker.
In Britain an inquest is held to determine the facts whenever someone dies unexpectedly, violently or in disputed circumstances. They do not determine criminal liability.
Lawyer Hugh Davies, the inquest's counsel, said the judge-led inquiry should be a “full and fearless” examination of all the facts.
He said all interested parties, including lawyers for the Litvinenko family, Lugovoi and the British government, would be given a police report into Litvinenko's death before the inquest begins. One section, however, will be censored - the results of police inquiries into whether Litvinenko was in contact with British intelligence.
Davies said the judge had seen the full report. The redaction, at the British government's request, “should not be taken as indicating one way or another” whether Litvinenko had dealings with British spies.
The judge set another pre-inquest hearing for November 2.
Outside court, Marina Litvinenko she was confident she would get justice from the inquest.
“I'm not a politician, I'm a woman who lost her husband and I want to know what happened,” she said. - Sapa-AP