British Judge: Putin 'Probably Approved' Litvinenko's Killing

A top British government investigator says Russian President Vladimir Putin probably personally approved the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian spy-turned-dissident who was exiled in Britain after criticizing Putin and describing him– among other things – as a pedophile.

Robert Owen, a retired judge serving as the inquiry's chairman, on Thursday announced his year-long inquiry had confirmed the Russian state was responsible for the November 2006 poisoning of Livinenko, carried out by two Russian agents at the Millennium hotel in central London just a few meters from the U.S. Embassy.

For nearly nine years since her husband's death, Marina Litvinenko has been demanding answers.  Thursday brought some vindication for her. Speaking to reporters outside the Royal Courts in London, she said she was "of course very pleased" by the outcome.  "The words my husband spoke on his death bed when he accused Mr. Putin of his murder have been proved true in an English court with a high standard of independence and fairness,”she said.\

Source: VOA