Litvinenko widow pleased documentary to be shown

CANNES, France, May 26 (Reuters) The widow of slain Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko said it was important for a film on her husband's murder to be shown at the Cannes film festival but would not say if she expected justice.

''Rebellion. The Litvinenko Case'', directed by Andrei Nekrasov, a friend of the former KGB agent, and Olga Konskaya, is being shown at Cannes today although it is not part of the official competition line-up.

''I am very happy that everybody around the world can see this movie,'' Marina Litvinenko told a news conference in Cannes today.

''It's very important to know what happened in London in November and why it happened and it's very important that it never happen again in any country,'' she said.

The film is being presented at a sensitive time with Britain and Russia locked in a standoff over a former secret agent authorities in London, who suspect of killing Litvinenko with a fatal dose of polonium 210, a highly toxic radioactive isotope.

Russia has refused to hand over Andrei Lugovoy, a former KGB officer who met Litvinenko on the day he fell ill and whom British authorities want to try for his murder.

Moscow denies that the Russian secret services had anything to do with Litvinenko's death.

''Rebellion'' includes an interview with Kremlin critic Litvinenko, in which he refers to his theory that security services staged a series of Moscow apartment bombings in 1999 and blamed them on Chechen rebels as a pretext for war.

Nekrasov also films the ailing Litvinenko in a London hospital shortly before his death from radiation poisoning, including one clip where he suddenly opens his eyes and stares into the camera.

Marina Litvinenko said she had not yet seen the film and expected it would be a difficult experience, but said she was pleased as it was being shown to an international audience at Cannes.

''Believe me it's not easy, and it's not easy to be here because what is the Cannes festival? It's superstars and show,'' she said. ''But the world has changed and sometimes you don't only see very good movies, sometimes it should be documentaries and very unhappy movies.'' Director Andrei Nekrasov said he was confident, the justice authorities would do their job well but Marina Litvinenko appeared less optimistic, answering only ''No comment'' when asked if she believed justice would be done.

REUTERS PY BST2007