Spy witness denies fleeing
2006-12-13 18:55
Moscow - A Russian man linked to events surrounding the poisoning murder
of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko on Wednesday denied
accusations in a newspaper report that he had fled his home in
France.
"I have not vanished at all, I'm still at my house and I never
spoke to a journalist from the Times," Russian Yevgeny Limarev told
AFP by telephone.
The British Times newspaper reported, without naming its
sources, that Limarev had fled his home in the French Alps.
"I yesterday (on Tuesday) met the police again to tell them about
anonymous death threats," the Russian added, after telling AFP on
December 7 that he feared for his life and was "ready to talk to
British and Italian investigators".
Limarev declined to say whether investigators had been in touch
with him.
The probe into Litvinenko's death has led from Britain to
Germany and Moscow, where British detectives spent the last week.
Limarev said he gave Mario Scaramella, an Italian contact of
Litvinenko, a memo accusing former Russian secret service agents of
seeking to kill certain exiled Russians.
Scaramella met with Litvinenko in London the day he fell fatally
ill.
The Italian said they had discussed a Russian secret service
hit-list on which both of their names figured.
"Mario did indeed receive information about this from my
contacts and asked me if they were credible. I answered yes,"
Limarev earlier told AFP, confirming that the contacts were
"contacts from Russia" whom he could not name.
"My name has been brought up in the case along with Litvinenko
and Scaramella," Limarev said. "And I really fear something might
happen to me."
Litvinenko died on November 23 after being poisoned with the
radioactive substance polonium-210. Scaramella also tested positive
for polonium contamination but not at a deadly level.