303
the poisoning in 2006 of former
Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko
in a London hotel, which was
believed to be perpetrated by fellow
Russians, led to a tit-for-tat
expulsion of diplomats from
Russian and British embassies.Protective measures
Bringing political plotters to justice
is often difficult. While authorities
can arrest an individual perpetrator
once an assassination has been
committed, the shadowy nature
of their plots may make it hard to
identify coconspirators. Lee Harvey
Oswald apparently worked alone
when he shot President John F.
Kennedy, but numerous conspiracy
theories suggest he may have been
the puppet of other bodies, such as
the CIA or the Soviet Union.
Likewise, the truth behind themurder of Alexander Litvinenko
is not fully understood, although
evidence does point strongly to
Andrey Lugovoi – whose extradition
was requested by the British
government in May 2007 but
refused by Russia.
These days, technological
advancements help government
agencies, such as the FBI, the CIA,
and the National Security Agency
(NSA) to uncover and prevent
political conspiracies. While the
world’s secret services once relied
on spies to intercept documents
and source physical evidence of
assassination plots, they can now
also call upon techniques and
equipment, such as surveillance
drones and wire-tapping.
Most nations have not enacted
specific laws to prevent political
plots. Instead, laws focus onprohibiting the means the
perpetrators use: murder, bribery,
and kidnapping, for example, are
all illegal, as are conspiracies to
commit them. Assassination has
always been illegal because it is
murder, but there are usually
harsher penalties for killing people
in positions of power.
Most nations around the world
do, however, have treason laws,
which punish those acting against
the nation or the crown. In Britain,
for example, the monarch was free
to determine what constituted
treason until 1351, when the
Treason Act defined the offences
deemed treasonous. In the US,
Article III of the US Constitution –
ratified in 1788 – limited treason to
either levying war against the state
or providing enemies of the state
with aid and comfort. ■ASSASSINATIONS AND POLITICAL PLOTS
1978
1963 2002
One-time Colombian
presidential candidate
Ingrid Betancourt is
kidnapped by guerrillas.In Rome, the former
Italian prime minister
Aldo Moro is ambushed
and shot dead by the
left-wing paramilitary
Red Brigades.Lee Harvey Oswald
shoots US President
John F. Kennedy as
he rides through Dallas
in an open-top car.2006
Former Russian spy
Alexander Litvinenko
is poisoned with
polonium at a
London hotel.302-303_Timeline_8.indd 303 13/01/2017 15:20