MOSCOW, July 31 (RIA Novosti) – A public inquiry into the death of ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko eight years ago has opened in London, coroner Sir Robert Owen said at a hearing Thursday.
Owen, who leads the inquest, said the inquiry will look into Russia’s alleged role in the mysterious circumstances surrounding the poisoning. He stressed he will withhold some of the classified files and parts of the inquiry will be kept secret, but added the final conclusion on Moscow’s involvement will be made public.
Litvinenko’s family alleges that the Kremlin was behind his death, and the inquiry is expected to consider the links between his death and the Russian authorities.
Before opening the inquiry, the coroner suspended the current inquest, which was announced last week by British Home Secretary Theresa May. The British Home Office was previously reluctant to start a public inquiry, saying it preferred to “wait and see.”
Alexander Litvinenko, 43, died in 2006 after drinking tea laced with radioactive polonium-210 at the Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square, London. He was believed to work for Britain’s MI6 intelligence service.
The next procedural hearing is now scheduled for September 5, with a full inquiry to start in January 2015.
In May, Owen was forced to uphold an application by the UK Foreign Office to keep crucial evidence in the case secret because it contained information vital to national security.
The coroner said, however, that addressing the issues without classified evidence would make the inquest “incomplete, inadequate and potentially misleading."
British prosecutors earlier requested the extradition of two former Russian security service officers – Andrei Lugovoi, who is now a State Duma deputy, and Dmitry Kovtun – over their alleged roles in the killing.
The extradition request was denied by Moscow, but British police were allowed to question the men in Moscow.
Lugovoi said in March that he was severing links with the inquest because he doubted the impartiality of the British investigation.
