Russians to Take Poisoning Inquiry to London

Investigators Want to Question More Than 100 People in Death of Former Agent

MOSCOW, Jan. 12 -- Russian officials who have launched their own investigation into the death of former Russian domestic security officer Alexander Litvinenko want to interview more than 100 people in London and conduct dozens of searches across the city, a senior Russian prosecutor said in a newspaper interview.

Prosecutors declined to name any of the people they wish to question. "I cannot fully satisfy your healthy curiosity due to the interests of the inquiry," said Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Zvyagintsev, in an interview with the official newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta that appeared Friday. "Moreover, our request is a voluminous document, which consists of 110 pages. It is hard to retell it."

Litvinenko, who became a British citizen, died Nov. 23 after being poisoned in London with polonium-210, a radioactive substance.

The Russian plan far exceeds the scope of British inquiries in Moscow, which amounted to a few interviews with Russian businessmen who met with Litvinenko in London on Nov. 1, the suspected date of the poisoning. Those interviews were conducted by Russian investigators. Detectives from Scotland Yard were allowed to attend but could not question the witnesses.

The prospective inquiry is likely to unsettle some Russians who live in London and are fiercely opposed to the rule of President Vladimir Putin. Litvinenko's friends in the city included Boris Berezovsky, the exiled tycoon, and Akhmed Zakayev, a Chechen separatist, both of whom the Russians would like to extradite. Previous efforts to have them returned to Moscow failed.

Alex Goldfarb, a friend of Litvinenko's who has acted as a family spokesman, described any Russian inquiry in London as a "stunt." Goldfarb said Russian officials "obstructed justice when the British went to Moscow" and now they are trying to "create an impression of reciprocity" by traveling to London and carrying out their own investigation.

Berezovsky's office said he had not received any request to talk to Russian officials. Previously, Berezovsky and Litvinenko's wife, Marina, said they would meet with Russian officials only if they were first checked to ensure they were not carrying polonium-210.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office said British authorities had not received an official request to investigate in London. "We would consider any request for assistance in consultation with the police," said the spokeswoman, who following British government policy spoke on condition of anonymity.

Among those interviewed in Moscow by Russian detectives with the British police present were Andrei Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun, two Russian businessmen who met with Litvinenko on Nov. 1.

Lugovoy and Kovtun have denied any involvement in the poisoning. Both men were hospitalized in Moscow for radiation exposure, but Lugovoy checked out last week. Kovtun's whereabouts and condition remain unknown.

Russian officials have said that Kovtun was a victim, and they are also investigating his exposure. "We have a lot of questions about this case," Zvyagintsev said. "We are asking to question more than 100 witnesses and carry out dozens of searches."

Zvyagintsev added: "We hope that our U.K. colleagues will respond to our request as promptly as we did recently."

Jordan reported from London.