ANKARA
A British judge has opened a long-awaited public inquiry into the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent who was poisoned and died in London in 2006.
Litvinenko, 43, died after being poisoned by radioactive polonium while drinking tea at a London hotel. He died three weeks later. His widow has always maintained that the Russian state was linked to his death, but Moscow has denied any involvement in Litvinenko's demise.
The public inquiry will be independent according to the U.K. government and is chaired by senior judge Sir Robert Owen. On Litvinenko's death in 2006, the U.K. government said it was committed to seeking justice for the family.
Sir Robert has indicated that the inquiry could last 10 weeks and would also cover Litvinenko's life before and after he left Russia and moved to London.
The inquiry will cover many situations, including possible involvement of the Russian government and British spies. Owen had earlier said there was "prima facie" evidence of Russian culpability.
In 2013, Sir Robert called for the release of documents relating to the Litvinenko case which were kept confidential under the Public Interest Immunity Certificate.
Then U.K. foreign secretary William Hague challenged this decision in the High Court and managed to overturn it. The government won a court decision that prevents the lifting of a secrecy order affecting the inquest into the Litvinenko's death.
The U.K. government previously named Andrei Lugovoi, a former KGB agent, and fellow ex-KGB man Dmitry Kovtun, as chief suspects. Russia has refused requests to extradite the pair. In 2007, Lugovoi became an Russian MP, giving him immunity from prosecution.
In preliminary hearings before an inquest in 2012 it was revealed that Litvinenko had been a paid agent for MI6 and Spanish secret services.
