Break-in at Finnish house of director of Litvinenko documentary

House ransacked, no property stolen - police see no sign of political motive

print this

Finnish police investigating a break-in at a house owned by Russian documentary film director Andrei Nekrasov believe that the crime was an ordinary case of theft and vandalism.
      The break-in occurred before mid-April at Nekrasov's house in Luumäki in South Karelia.
      There had been suggestions that the crime was linked with the film Nekrasov has made on his friend, the former Russian security service agent Aleksandr Litvinenko, who died after being poisoned late last year.
      The director, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, told reporters about the burglary on Friday in Cannes a day before the premiere of his new film Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case.
      The new film deals with Litvinenko, and touches upon his attempts to shed light on the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
      Nekrasov said that that the house and the archive in it had suffered damage, but that nothing had been stolen. The director's Finnish friends said that the case could be something other than an ordinary break-in into an empty holiday home.
      The archive apparently contained material used by Nekrasov in his documentary. The director also said that he is "a bit frightened" in advance of the premiere of his new film.
      Because of the unusual target of the break-in, the crime has also been reported to the Police Command of the Ministry of the Interior. However, the investigation is still in the hands of local police.
     
"We have no reason to react", says National Police Commissioner Markkku Salminen.
      Leevi Hakulinen of the local police says that break-ins into the many summer cottages and holiday homes in the area are a common occurrence.
      However, the fact that no property was stolen leaves the door open to alternate theories.
      "This might suggest that a search of some sort was involved", Salminen says.
      Nekrasov says that he has owned the building since 1993. There had been a previous break-in. The police investigated a theft which had taken place in 2002, but the case remained unsolved.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Anti-democracy: A letter from Russia by Andrei Nekrasov (24.11.2006)

Helsingin Sanomat