Litvinenko was assigned to carry out that order, since he had known the tycoon personally. They became acquainted in 1994, after Berezovsky’s car was destroyed in a blast, and the officer investigated the circumstances of that incident.
After that scandalous news conference, a criminal investigation into the murder attempt against the tycoon was launched only to be closed shortly afterwards due to a lack of evidence. Litvinenko, himself was subsequently charged with abuse of office and taken into custody. He spent 8 months in remand at the high-security Lefortovo prison, until the Moscow garrison court found the evidence to be insufficient and acquitted him.
The military prosecutor’s office had anticipated such an outcome and arrested the officer on a new charge right in the courtroom. This time, Litvinenko was accused of possessing explosives. Litvinenko’s lawyers helped him out of detention on condition of a travel ban and in November 2000 the officer fled to London.
Upon arrival at Heathrow airport the fugitive made a statement. He said that his family was in danger, because he knew how and by whom the Moscow apartment bombings of September 1999 were carried out. Six months later, Litvinenko was granted political asylum in the UK.
The last time he appeared in public was on March 5, when he took part in a news conference in London where Boris Berezovsky presented his documentary. The film, ''Attack on Russia'', aimed to prove the FSB’s involvement in the 1999 bombings in Moscow and Volgodonsk, as well as Putin’s knowledge of these operations.
Three weeks later, prosecutors in Moscow resumed proceedings against Litvinenko. The officer was summoned for questioning in Moscow, but he ignored the summons. In an interview to Russian daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta, the officer confirmed that at the end of March this year, two employees of the Russian consular office knocked on the door of his apartment in London, but he would not let them in.
''I have not done anything criminal or unlawful. I only refused to kill a man (Boris Berezovsky. – Gazeta.Ru),'' Litvinenko told the Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily. ''I have been behind bars twice already, but the charges against me have never been proved. Now they are charging me with the abduction of some Odinokov, who I allegedly drove in a car-trunk for questioning and beat up. The man shown on video footage broadcast on Russian TV every once in a while is not me. I have never seen that Odinokov. And, well, it sounds funny: I kidnapped and beat him up in 1997, and he remembers about it and only complains in 2000, by the time I was in London,'' he continued.
On May 28, Litvinenko’s trial opened in the Narofominsk military court in the vicinity of Moscow. The FSB’s eagerness to have the fugitive officer convicted at any cost compelled the powerful agency to admit that some people who work for the service have guilty consciences and very dirty hands.
The second court session on Wednesday was held behind closed doors. The court questioned two witnesses, former colleagues of Litvinenko from the FSB’s directorate for combating organized crime, Viktor Shebalin and Nikolai Borisov. Both testified against Litvinenko.
Shebalin identified Litvinenko as the one who had severely beaten up a suspect detained in the course of an investigation in Podolsk. The video footage of that ''interrogation'' was presented to the court. The defence counsel Mikhail Marov argued that the quality of the film was very low and that it was absolutely impossible to identify anyone on it. Nevertheless, Shebalin said he had recognized Litvinenko by his voice and manners.
His colleague, Nikolai Borisov confirmed that the FSB Colonel had beaten up another person. According to the witness, it happened during an investigative operation in Kostroma, where Litvinenko had been investigating a series of explosions. Borisov alleged that Litvinenko used inadmissible methods to gather evidence. In particular, he beat up a person suspected of making explosive devices, and then planted a bomb in the suspect’s car. Borisov claimed he had seen it all with his own eyes.
Altogether, the prosecution has 6 victims and 35 witnesses ready to confirm various episodes of Litvinenko’s criminal activity. Because the defendant is being tried in his absence, it is most likely that the number of witnesses invited to testify will be reduced. Otherwise, the court will fail to complete the examination before July 1. And for the FSB it is now a matter of honour to have Litvinenko convicted, no matter what.
In the opinion of Litvinenko’s defence lawyer, the testimonies of Shabalin and Borisov are not credible. He intends to ask the court for permission to summon 20 more witnesses, and to order 2-3 forensic examinations. However, it is unlikely that the court will satisfy Marov’s requests. Moreover, the court is well aware that the verdict will have no practical significance. Litvinenko is not coming back to Russia.
30 МАЯ 14:51
