April 03, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 25, 1429

MOSCOW, April 2: Britain has granted political asylum to a journalist who fled Russia saying her life was in danger because of her criticism of the Kremlin, she said.

The decision to grant asylum to Yelena Tregubova could irritate Moscow, which is already locked in a row with the British government over the 2006 murder of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London. Britain’s ministry for internal affairs, the Home Office, declined to confirm if Tregubova had been granted asylum, saying the government did not comment on individual cases.

Tregubova said by telephone from London that she had received a letter from the Home Office informing her that her application for political asylum had been approved.

“This is an immense relief,” said 34-year-old Tregubova. “This is a very big, a very bold step (by the British government).” She said she had applied for asylum “based on certain threats which led me to believe that it would be dangerous for me to return home ... It is directly linked to my professional activities. I am 100 per cent convinced of that.”

Tregubova reported on the Kremlin for the leading Russian newspaper Kommersant.

She published a book called “Tales of a Kremlin Digger” which disclosed details of private conversations with senior politicians, including a dinner with Vladimir Putin before he became Russian president.—Reuters