German inquiry into 'poisoning' of Russian dissidents
Nick Allen
Viktor Kalashnikov, 58, a former colonel in the Soviet KGB, and his historian wife Marina Kalashnikov, were found by doctors to have dangerously high levels of mercury.
Both have suffered health problems with Mr Kalashnikov losing considerable weight and his wife losing half of her hair. Medical experts recommended they undergo further tests and be watched closely.
A spokesman for the public prosecutors' office in Berlin said: "An investigation has been opened. It is being carried out by a department dealing with politically motivated crimes." Earlier this month Mr Kalashnikov told the German magazine Focus that "Moscow poisoned us" and that they were the victims of a clandestine attack by Russian agents.
The couple have worked as freelance journalists since the late 1990s, publishing articles that have angered the Kremlin.
They arrived in Berlin in September having previously stayed in Ukraine, Poland and Estonia. According to Focus, doctors at Berlin's Charite hospital found 53.7 microgrammes of mercury per litre in Mr Kalashnikov's blood and 56 microgrammes in his wife's.
"The maximum safe level is between one and three microgrammes of mercury in a litre of blood," said Frank Mertens, a toxicologist at the hospital.
While working for the KGB, Mr Kalashnikov had been based in Brussels and Vienna and had access to secret intelligence.
In 2006 former Russian security officer Alexander Litvinenko, a high profile Kremlin critic, died in London after being poisoned with radioactive polonium.
His death prompted an icy period in Moscow's diplomatic relations with Britain.
Britain has repeatedly demanded the extradition of former KGB bodyguard Andrei Lugovoi, the main suspect in the Litvinenko murder.
Dec. 27, 2010
FW 2/26/11