调查称普京“可能批准”毒杀前克格勃特工

AS IT IS 2016-01-22 Putin 'Probably' Approved Killing¹ of Dissident Spy 调查称普京“可能批准”毒杀前克格勃特工

Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably” approved the killing of a Russian spy turned dissident, says a top British government investigator².

Alexander Litvinenko was the Russian spy turned dissident, or critic of the government. He was exiled in Britain after criticizing Putin and describing him – among other things – as a pedophile, or someone who sexually abuses children.

Robert Owen, a retired³ judge, served as the chairman of the yearlong inquiry⁴. On Thursday, he announced that two Russian agents were responsible for the November 2006 poisoning of Livinenko. It occurred at the Millennium⁵ hotel in central London just a few meters from the U.S. Embassy.

For nearly nine years since her husband's death, Marina Litvinenko has been demanding answers. Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse in London, she said she was "of course, very pleased" by the outcome.

She added, "The words my husband spoke⁶ on his death bed when he accused Mr. Putin of his murder have been proved true in an English court with a high standard of independence and fairness.”

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry⁷ spokeswoman Maria Zhakarova said, "We regret that a purely⁸ criminal case has been politicized and has darkened the general atmosphere of bilateral⁹ relations.''

Back story 

Litvinenko was an agent of the Russian Federal Security Service, the Russian spy agency that came after the KGB. In 1998, he became an outspoken¹⁰ critic of Putin and sought asylum¹¹ in Britain.

He criticized Putin in an article and described the Russian leader as a pedophile. Russia rejected the accusation¹².

In early November 2006, Litvinenko agreed to meet with Russian agents Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun. British officials said they added radioactive polonium to his tea. Polonium is a highly toxic¹³ substance and just one microgram -- about the size of a speck¹⁴ of dust -- is enough to kill a person.

Litvinenko quickly became ill and died 23 days later.

Reactions from London

Prime Minister David Cameron's spokeswoman said the British government was considering what actions to take.

"It is not the way for any state, let alone a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, to behave," the spokeswoman said. "Regrettably, these findings confirm what we and previous governments believed."

London financier Bill Browder is a human-rights advocate and a critic of Putin. He said Britain will not take any action.

He said “it comes down to money. There’s a lot of Russian money sloshing around London, and I believe that there’s a concern among certain members of the government that that money would be less available if Britain took a moral stand on some of these issues.”

Words in This Story

pedophile – n. a person who has sexual interst in children

outspoken – adj. talking in a free and honest way about your opinion

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

3 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

4 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

5 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

9 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

10 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

11 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

12 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

13 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

14 speck   

n.微粒，小污点，小斑点

参考例句：

• I have not a speck of interest in it.我对它没有任何兴趣。
• The sky is clear and bright without a speck of cloud.天空晴朗，一星星云彩也没有。