Poisoning Suspect Runs for Parliament to Dodge Jail

The Russian businessman accused of using radioactive polonium-210 to poison a critic of controversial President Vladimir Putin is trying to dodge prosecution by running for parliament, the London Times reports. The Kremlin has already refused to hand Andrei Lugovoi over to British officials, saying it would violate the Russian constitution. But if Lugovoi becomes a member of the Duma, he would also be immune to domestic prosecution.

Lugovoi has the second slot in a slate of candidates who will be seated if the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia wins in December. British officials believe Lugovoi  exposed Putin critic Alexander Litvinenko to lethal levels of polonium-210 in London, leading to a painful death. Lugovoi is expected to win votes from those who see him as a hero who killed a traitor. (More Russia stories.)