MOSCOW — The last time Britain accused two Russians of an assassination, one of them ended up in the Russian parliament. When some Russians have been accused of crimes abroad, political and business leaders have embraced them and made them celebrities. ANDREI LUGOVOIAccused of poisoning Litvinenko with the radioactive substance polonium, Lugovoi, a former KGB officer, parlayed his newfound fame into a political career. Lugovoi argues Skripal’s poisoning had nothing to do with Russia and blames Britain for harbouring what he calls defectors. The Russian constitution bans extraditing criminal suspects, and Lugovoi’s status as a lawmaker makes him immune from prosecution at home.

Source: National Post September 12, 2018 18:04 UTC