Court Hearings on Litvinenko Murder Case to Resume in London on Friday

Court hearings on the case of former Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officer Alexander Litvinenko's murder will resume in London on Friday after being suspended in spring.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian businessman Dmitry Kovtun, considered by UK authorities a key suspect in the case, will testify at the public hearings at the Royal Courts of Justice via video link from Moscow on July 27, 28 and 29, according to the court's press service.

On July 30, Maxim Litvinenko, the former FSB officer's younger brother and Walter Litvinenko, his father, will give testimony.

On July 30-31, the closing statements of the core participants in the case will be made. After that the court hearing will be held behind closed doors.

Sir Robert Owen, the chairman of the inquiry, previously stated that the case will be completed before the year-end.

A public inquiry into the death of the former intelligence officer was formally set up in London on July 31, 2014, to find whether the FSB played a role in Litvinenko's death.

Litvinenko, who specialized in tackling organized crime, defected from Russia to Britain in 2000. In 2006, he fell ill and died soon after drinking tea with former colleagues Andrei Lugovoi and Kovtun at the central London Millennium hotel.

UK authorities claim that Litvinenko was poisoned with the radioactive isotope polonium-210.

Kovtun and Lugovoi are wanted in the United Kingdom, where they face immediate arrest as prime suspects in the case.

Russia has denied Britain's request to extradite Kovtun and Lugovoi, suggesting that UK authorities should question them in Moscow instead.