U.K. inquiry into ex-KGB agent's death stalls

LONDON -- The long-running inquiry into the poisoning death in London of a former KGB officer, Alexander Litvinenko, hit fresh delays Monday over the failure of a key Russian suspect to testify by video link from Moscow.

The suspect, Dmitry Kovtun, a former Red Army officer, had been scheduled to begin three days of testimony Monday. But a lawyer for the inquiry, Robin Tam, said Kovtun was "not in a position to give oral evidence" because he felt bound by confidentiality agreements related to a separate Russian inquiry into Litvinenko's death.

Robert Owen, the senior British judge in charge of the inquiry, which opened in January, gave Kovtun until 9 a.m. today to resolve purported legal obstacles in Russia. Otherwise, the inquiry will wrap up this week without him.

Reflecting increasing exasperation with Kovtun's behavior, Owen said he had "the gravest suspicion" that an attempt was underway to "manipulate the situation."

Ben Emmerson, a lawyer for Marina Litvinenko, Alexander Litvinenko's widow, said the inquiry was being "manipulated in a coordinated way between Mr. Kovtun, the murderer and the Russian state that sent him to commit murder."

Kovtun and the Russian authorities have long denied complicity in the poisoning.

At the time of his death, Litvinenko was seen as a whistleblower and an opponent of President Vladimir Putin. Litvinenko's family and legal team have accused Putin of being behind the poisoning, an accusation that Putin has dismissed. Litvinenko fled to Britain in 2000, seeking asylum, and he had secured British citizenship weeks before he died in November 2006.

The British authorities have accused Kovtun, a former Soviet Army officer, and Andrei Lugovoi, a former KGB bodyguard, of murdering Litvinenko. Both deny involvement, and Russia refuses to extradite them.

Litvinenko died after drinking tea from a pot laced with a rare radioactive isotope, polonium 210, at an encounter with Russians including Kovtun and Lugovoi at an upscale hotel in central London.

At first, it seemed the inquiry would unfold with no Russian rebuttal of the British prosecutors' charges. Both suspects would be arrested on murder charges if they traveled to Britain.

But in late March, as the inquiry was set to finish public hearings, Kovtun signaled a last-minute desire to offer his own version of events. Lugovoi has declined to cooperate with the British probe

Kovtun's video-link testimony had been widely anticipated as a finale before Owen begins collating his findings ahead of a formal report expected by the end of the year.

Information for this article was contributed by Jill Lawless of The Associated Press.

A Section on 07/28/2015

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