"ALL CAPS IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE."

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

PUTIN : LITVINENKO ASSASSINATION / INQUEST :: ASSAD : HARIRI ASSASSINATION / INQUEST

CNN/AP:
Russia will refuse to extradite any suspects in the radioactive poisoning death of a former spy and outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin to Britain, the country's top prosecutor has said. Prosecutor-General Yuri Chaika spoke to reporters on Tuesday as British detectives in Moscow started to investigate the fatal poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko on November 23.

The team arrived in the Russian capital the day before as part of their probe. Before his death in London the former FSB agent blamed Putin for the poisoning. The Kremlin has denied any involvement and Russian officials have pledged to give the British police all necessary support to carry out their inquiries. However, Chaika said no suspects will be sent to Britain.

"If they want to arrest them it would be impossible, they are citizens of Russia and the Russian constitution makes that impossible," he said, according to a Reuters translation. It remained unclear whether British detectives would be able to question former Russian agent Andrei Lugovoi, who met Litvinenko in London on November 1, the day he fell ill.

I feel that this murder investigation will show that Putin - like Assad - is a murdering, lying autocrat who uses assassination to help maintain and expand his power. (Birds of a feather...) And this report proves that Russia will cooperate with the investigation about as much as Syria has - which is to say not much at all.

What makes Putin worse than Assad is the fact that Putin's Russia is directly aiding and arming Iran and Syria - and blocking our attemots to use the UN as a means to curb them. And he does nothing to help us with North Korea. It's time we treated Russia as a foe.

A dfferent and interesting angle here from AJ Strata
.

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