Alexander Litvinenko did not hand over the terrorist to either the FSB or Scotland Yard

Scandal

Yesterday, the Federal Security Service of Russia appealed to Scotland Yard with a request to interrogate former FSB Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Litvinenko, who lives in London and recently announced his contacts with the terrorist Achimez Gochiyayev, who is wanted by the Russian special services. Mr. Litvinenko refused to testify. And nothing will happen to him for this.

Recall that recently Alexander Litvinenko, who received political asylum in the UK and published a book in London together with writer Yuri Felshtinsky titled "FSB Blows Up Russia," stated that he had established contacts with the main suspect in the terrorist attacks in Moscow and Volgodonsk in the fall of 1999, Achimez Gochiyayev. According to Mr. Litvinenko, the terrorist Gochiyayev provided him with "important information," which the Chekist promised to share on July 25 at a meeting of the public commission for the investigation of terrorist acts. However, the former FSB lieutenant colonel told a "Kommersant" correspondent that it was not he who "reached out" to Gochiyayev, but his partner in the revelations, Mr. Felshtinsky. From this, it followed that Mr. Litvinenko knows nothing about Gochiyayev's whereabouts. Nevertheless, the FSB had questions only for their former colleague.

Without waiting for the promised speech on July 25 and, apparently, fearing the effect that the former officer's next revelations might produce, the Russian special service sent a written request to the UK to provide assistance in the fight against terrorism, namely: to interrogate Alexander Litvinenko about his contacts with the known terrorist. "We did indeed receive such a document from the Russian special service," the Scotland Yard press service confirmed to "Kommersant," but refused to say what actions the English police would take in connection with this.

"I am not going to give testimony to the English special services," Mr. Litvinenko himself said yesterday. "I believe it is incorrect for an FSB officer to give such testimony. When I arrived in London, I immediately stated that I would not contact structures similar to the FSB." Thus, the FSB got what it wanted—Mr. Litvinenko's refusal to help in the fight against terrorism could seriously compromise him before the UK security services. However, Mr. Litvinenko himself expects that no punitive actions will follow from Scotland Yard. "Litvinenko has a special status (political asylum), so the attitude towards him is special," says Alexander Treshchev, a specialist in international law and president of Vneshyurkolegiya. "No one will grab him on the street and drag him to interrogation at the first request of the FSB. Scotland Yard first needs to receive an international legal request, register it, in general, observe a mass of bureaucratic formalities before questioning Litvinenko. And this will take more than one week. Meanwhile, after July 25, when Litvinenko promised to make his statements, he will no longer be of interest to anyone, so there will be no point in questioning him."

It seems that no one will be able to prevent Mr. Litvinenko from speaking at the meeting of the public commission for the investigation of terrorist attacks in Moscow with "important information." Another matter is that references to Achimez Gochiyayev in his absence will not add much conviction to what Mr. Litvinenko says, even if what is said is maintained within the framework of the previous version that the FSB blew up the houses in Moscow. In any case, even if there is nothing fundamentally new in the words of the former Chekist, he has once again managed to intrigue the public and worry the FSB, which he dislikes.

OLGA ALLENOVA