[JURIST] According to a 300-page judicial report [text, PDF] released Thursday, the poisoning death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko was “probably approved” by President Vladmir Putin [official website]. In his report, Sir Richard Owen noted that Litvinenko’s crossings with Putin began during his time working for the KGB where he investigated the Tambov criminal group, a St. Petersburg organized crime group. As Litvinenko investigated he became convinced that members of the Tambov were colluding with members of the KGB, including Putin. Throughout his life, Litvinenko publicized his findings both while he was in Russia and when he left, and he published his findings in his book “The Gang from the Lubyanka” and an essay “The Uzbek File.” Litvinenko also acted as a whistleblower when he had been given orders he felt were unlawful such as killing Boris Berezovsky. According to the report, orders to poison Litvinenko likely came from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and were “probably approved” by Putin. While many have been waiting for the release of the report, Russian officials have sharply criticized [Al Jazeera report] it, calling it “biased” and “opaque.”

Litvinenko’s death has led to strained relations [JURIST report] between the UK and Russia, due in part to Russia’s refusal to extradite Andrei Lugovoy [JURIST news archive], the man suspected of administering the radioactive poison polonium-210 [CDC backgrounder], which killed Litvinenko, so that Lugovoy could stand trial for murder in the UK. The two countries have otherwise battled politically since Litvinenko’s death with each expelling a number of the other country’s diplomats in July 2007 and Russia closing down local offices of the British Council in December 2007 [JURIST reports]. Lugovoy was charged [JURIST report] with Litvinenko’s murder in May 2007.