Russians 'set up hit squad to kill London dissidents'

[ECH1969]

A secret assassination squad was set up to poison former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, it was claimed today. The allegations are contained in two letters smuggled out of a Russian jail and passed to a close friend of Mr Litvinenko.

The letters were apparently written in jail by Mikhail Trepashkin, a former Russian intelligence officer. In one, Mr Litvinenko is warned that both he and his family are at risk. Mr Litvinenko's friend Alex Goldfarb said scans of the letters came into his possession yesterday and he passed them to Scotland Yard.

In 2004 Mr Trepashkin, who worked for the KGB's successor the FSB until 1997, was accused of being a British spy and passing secret information to Mr Litvinenko and his close friend tycoon Boris Berezovsky, both exiled in London.

Mr Trepashkin tells his friend that he had met an FSB contact in Russia who told him that a "very serious group" had been set up, which "will knock out all those associated with Berezovsky and Litvinenko".

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23376659-details/Russians+'set+up+hit+squad+to+kill+London+dissidents'/article.do

[Kagemusha]

1. To those born yesterday: Claims are easy to make

Some are true and some are not. One can't tell from a couple of letters.

Edit: Not addressed to the poster. This thing's a hysteria though. And the claiming part would not be any different if it was 1906 and not 2006. Claims of evil assassination conspiracies are a dime a dozen.

[FlaGranny]

2. Not sure what you're trying to say.

You mean there was no assassination or assassination conspiracy to poison these people? It seems very, very certain that there was. Seems more likely than a suicide. Even more likely than an accident. The simplest. most obvious answer is that a group conspired to do a couple of folks in.

Edit: If it looks like a duck . . .

[zreosumgame]

7. just think how much trouble has been caused by the claims

in the Elders of Zion hoax.

[dipsydoodle]

3. Claims of evil assassination

Ask the average person in Lebanon who was resposible for the two assinations and the response is likley to be either the CIA or the Israelis - not Syria. As you said "to those born yesterday........"

edit - to make it clear I tend to agree with the Lebanese.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sweetheart]

6. russians are serious

claims are an american thing... accusations of life and death: russian

[yellowcanine]

5. Letters or no letters, it seems obvious that something went down.

Unless Litvinenko offed himself which I find highly unlikely. Proving that a high ranking Russian official, let alone Putin himself, was involved will be another matter. If it was someone high ranking the hitmen themselves are likely dead already or will be soon.