Litvinenko's family released pictures of him in hospital on Minday afternoon. The former Russian FSB colonel, the victim of a FSB poison attack has been moved to intensive care after his condition deteriorated Sunday night, the hospital where he is being treated has confirmed.
University College hospital in London said that Mr Litvinenko had been moved as a precautionary measure.
Images of Mr Litvinenko show a pale, bald man half-sitting up in a hospital bed, with monitors attached to his partially uncovered chest.
Meanwhile, according to separate reports, the man who met Mr Litvinenko at the London restaurant shortly before the Russian fell ill has gone into hiding after contacting British intelligence officers.
Citing an Italian political source, the Press Association reports that Italian academic Mario Scaramella contacted staff at the British embassy in Rome after realising that he was the last person to have seen Mr Litvinenko before he became unwell.
"Mario is very well connected and has a lot of sources within the intelligence agencies but he did not have any involvement in the attempt on Litvinenko's life," said the source.
Scotland Yard have confirmed that detectives from the specialist crime directorate are investigating the poisoning of Mr Litvinenko, a Lomdon news servive, Adfero reported.
Funny Russians: SVR Rejects Poisoning of Russian Defector by FSB
Russia's "Foreign intelligence service" (SVR) said accusations that it had played a role in poisoning its former officer Alexander Litvinenko, who has found shelter in London, were "unconvincing, to say the least," a Russian state news agency reported.
SVR spokesman "Sergei Ivanov" told Ekho Moskvy radio on Monday, "Since 1959, when Ukrainian nationalist Bandera was destroyed, Soviet intelligence and the successor to the First Main Directorate of the Soviet KGB - the Foreign Intelligence Service have not been engaged in physical liquidation of people unwanted in Russia."
"Therefore all accusations against the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service look unconvincing, to say the least," he added.
Poor guy, this "Ivanov". We are not even sure if it is his rel name.
Noboby accused neither the SVR, nor the "Russian military intelligence" GRU in poisoning Mr Livtinenko. Everybody accuses only the FSB.
The FSB spolesman keeps a mum.
Two Other FSB Suspects Reported in FSB-Poisoning of Russian Defector
According to a report from the Bulgarian news agency Focus citing a Russian newspaper, the defected FSB colonel Litvinenko met with two people before the dinner with the Italian Mario Scaramella, when he was poisoned by the FSB, his close friend and associate Goldfarb from the US said.
According to Goldfarb, who helped Mr Livinenko to escape from Russia in 1998, one of the people whom Litvinenko had met with was Andrey Lugovoy, also an ex officer from the FSB. Andrey Lugovoy was accompanied by another man, known as Vladimir.
The British police investigate that meeting as one of the possible versions for the poisoning, Goldfarb added.
Meanwhile, the Italian citizen Mario Scaramela who has met with the ex colonel from the FSB Alexander Litvinenko in the day when he was poisoned, is hiding since he fears his life might be in danger, the US Time magazine reports today. A friend of Mr Scaramela who wished to remain anonymous, said that to the Time magazine, according to another news report from the Focus.
"Mario fears that the Russians and the Chechens are seeking him. He ahs many sources in the reconnaissance but he has nothing to do with attempt on the life of Mr Litvinenko", the TIME magazine source said.
No information about "Chechens seeking" Mr Scaramella is available to the Kavkaz Center news agency. It is also not quite clear why he is purportedly sought by the Russians.
KC
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