Ex-Spy Who Accused Russians Is Poisoned

LONDON, Nov. 19, 2006 — -- Alexander Litvinenko, a former colonel in the Russian KGB spy agency who accused his former bosses of mass murder, has been fighting for his life in a London hospital after an especially memorable meal at a London restaurant three weeks ago.

"As his condition deteriorated," said Dr. Andres Virchis, a hematologist, "it became clear to us that this was no longer just an episode of gastroenteritis or food poisoning, but that actually something serious had happened to Alexander."

Litvinenko's mysterious lunch partner, it seems, could have spiked his sushi with thallium, a toxic metal used in rat poison.

"He's gravely ill, no doubt about that," said Dr. John Henry, a clinical toxicologist who has seen Alexander Litvinenko in the hospital. "And it is due to thallium … and it's been confirmed in his blood stream."

"I saw him yesterday, he looks terrible," said Alexander Goldfarb, a friend. "He looks like a ghost, actually. He lost all his hair. He hasn't eaten for 18 days. They keep him on i.v., and he looks like an old man."

British police now have security camera pictures from the restaurant, but have made no arrests.

Still, Litvinenko's friends claim it was payback for his attempts to poke around in the dark corners of the Russian intelligence services.

One of those pals is Russian dissident and tycoon Boris Berezovsky, who has also been at Litvinenko's bedside. Litvinenko had previously accused Russian agents of trying to murder Berezovsky after he had a falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin has not commented on the new alleged poison plot. But Berezovsky said his friend has been a victim of a conspiracy at the top.

"It's not complicated to say who fights against him," Berezovsky said in a telephone interview. "He's Putin's enemy. He started to criticize him and had lots of fears."

Litvinenko wrote a book in which he accused Russia's secret service of staging a series of Moscow bombings in 1999 that killed 300 Russians, and further accused agents of blaming the deaths on Chechen rebels in order to gain Russian public support for war against Chechnya.