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Kasparov Warned of Assassination Threat by Russian Agents
Confirmed
In Short: Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported Wednesday, citing sources close to Kasparov, that Russian agents had also plotted to kill him and former Russian lawmaker-turned-Kremlin critic Ilya Ponomaryov.
Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov said Thursday that US and Lithuanian security services had warned him and his longtime associate Ivan Tyutrin that their lives were in danger, advising them to take security precautions.
Kasparov, 63, issued the statement after the US Department of Justice announced in mid-September that it had charged five alleged Russian intelligence agents with conspiring to carry out attacks and murders around the world, including in the United States.
Kasparov said the news did not come as a surprise but was still shocking. He noted that neither he nor Tyutrin were explicitly told that they were the individuals referred to in the US indictment.
The US Justice Department said the Russian agents were seeking to have a target in Lithuania, identified only as “Victim-2”, murdered.
Kasparov and Tyutrin were not explicitly told that they were the individuals mentioned in the indictment, but the warnings from US and Lithuanian security services indicate the potential danger they face.
What's confirmed
- Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov said Thursday that US and Lithuanian security services had warned him and his longtime associate Ivan Tyutrin that their lives were in danger, advising them to take security precautions.
- Kasparov, 63, issued the statement after the US Department of Justice announced in mid-September that it had charged five alleged Russian intelligence agents with conspiring to carry out attacks and murders around the world, including in the United States.
- Kasparov said the news did not come as a surprise but was still shocking. He noted that neither he nor Tyutrin were explicitly told that they were the individuals referred to in the US indictment.
- The US Justice Department said the Russian agents were seeking to have a target in Lithuania, identified only as “Victim-2”, murdered.
- Kasparov and Tyutrin were not explicitly told that they were the individuals mentioned in the indictment, but the warnings from US and Lithuanian security services indicate the potential danger they face.
What's still developing
- “News that I, along with my longtime associate and co-founder of the Free Russia Forum, Ivan Tyutrin, are on a list of assassination targets did not come as a surprise to me, but it is nevertheless a shock,” Kasparov said on social media.
- Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported Wednesday, citing sources close to Kasparov, that Russian agents had also plotted to kill him and former Russian lawmaker-turned-Kremlin critic Ilya Ponomaryov.