UK expert involved in Iran talks dies mysteriously. U.N. says dead staffer not linked to Iran

U.N. says dead staffer not linked to Iran

UPI

VIENNA, Oct. 25 (UPI) — U.N. nuclear officials discredited claims a nuclear engineer who died after a 17-story fall from the Vienna International Center was linked to talks with Iran.

Timothy Hampton died Tuesday when he fell from the 17th floor of the Vienna International Center. Several media reports last week stated Hampton had joined a U.N. team in negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, describing the circumstances of his death as suspicious.

In a letter to U.S. news magazine Newsweek, Annika Thunborg, a spokeswoman for the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, described Hampton as a process engineer for her organization, adding the CTBTO “never had any role in the Iran negotiations.”

“Therefore, media reports linking the dead CTBTO staff member with the Iran talks are baseless and untrue,” she stressed.

Anne Thomas, a spokeswoman for the United Nations in Vienna, told the Austrian Times that Hampton was discovered dead at the bottom of a stairwell Tuesday morning.

“Vienna police are investigating the incident and there is nothing else we can say,” she said.

Western powers, Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency had considered a deal with Tehran that would give the country access to nuclear fuel, while making sure Iran does not move forward with nuclear weapons.

Iran, however, balked on the deal, saying it was a ploy to remove low-enriched uranium from the country.
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UK expert involved in Iran talks dies mysteriously

PressTV
Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:26:58 GMT

Austrian police have begun investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a British nuclear expert involved in Iranian talks at a UN building in Vienna.

Timothy Hampton, who had joined the United Nation’s team for the talks between Iran, France, Russia and the United States, died after falling off the 17th floor of the Vienna International Center.

Hampton had been a member of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization.

A UN spokeswoman in Vienna told the Austrian Times that Hampton was found dead at the bottom of a stairwell at 08:30 local time on Tuesday morning, one day before the high-level talks were set to resume.

Although the police have not ruled out suicide completely, they say that the nuclear expert may have possibly been murdered, as investigators have not discovered a note from Hampton indicating that he planned to kill himself.

“Vienna police are investigating the incident and there is nothing else we can say,” said Anne Thomas.

Sources told The Sun that the circumstances surrounding Hampton’s death were suspicious.

“The timing adds to suspicions and the whole thing is a mystery,” they said according to the British paper.

Hampton’s suspicious death at the Vienna International Centre- one of main UN headquarters along with New York, Nairobi and Geneva- is not the first of its kind.

According to UN staff members, four months ago, an employee, who was also believed to be British, lost his life in a similar case when plunging down from a comparable height.

MJ/DT