Another nuclear monitors “suicide”
British nuclear expert’s 17th floor UN death plunge ‘was not suicide’
A British nuclear expert who fell from the 17th floor of a United Nations building did not commit suicide and may have been hurled to his death, says a doctor who carried out a second post-mortem examination.
Timothy Hampton, 47, a scientist involved in monitoring nuclear activity, was found dead last week at the bottom of a stairwell in Vienna.
He had been working for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) at the UN building.
CTBTO staff monitor tremors in countries worldwide to uncover illegal nuclear tests. It has been suggested that Mr Hampton may have been involved in talks discussing nuclear testing in Iran. The UN has strongly denied the claims.
Under a year ago, an American died at the IAEA in strikingly similar circumstances, his body being found at the bottom of a stairwell.
A UN spokeswoman said an investigation into that case continues, though Austrian police have concluded it was suicide. </em>
Risky business, this monitoring of nuclear activity. If “they” don’t kill you outright, they do the next best thing. Ask Valerie Plame.
