Russia's poisoning 'without a poison' (BBC) {Litvinenko not the only one}

[eppur_se_muova]

By Julian O'Halloran
BBC File on 4

"He complained about fatigue, and red blotches began to appear on his skin. His internal organs began collapsing one by one. Then he lost almost all his hair."

This was how a witness described the mysterious illness which struck down 53 year old Yuri Shchekochikhin, a member of the Russian Duma or parliament, in June 2003.

Within 16 days of falling ill Shchekochikhin was dead. And both colleagues and family suspect he was murdered.

The strange illness of Yuri Shchekochikhin is one of a series of deaths investigated in Russia by File on 4 in the wake of the dramatic radiation poisoning of Russian exile Alexander Litvinenko in London last November.

The common factor in these deaths is that in each case people close to the victim suspect that either the state or one of its security arms was involved.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/file_on_4/6324241.stm