The federal government reacted to the verdict in the Berlin zoo murder. The court considered it proven that the order for the murder came from Russian state authorities.
+++ Update, 4.40 p.m.: As a consequence of the Berlin murder sentence against a Russian, the federal government declares two employees of the Russian embassy in Germany to be “undesirable persons”. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock * said in Berlin that this was explained to the Russian Ambassador Sergei Netschajew on Wednesday during a conversation in the Foreign Office. Such a step amounts to expelling the diplomats.
Moscow sees verdict on zoo murder as “politically motivated”
+++ Update, 2.10 p.m.: The Russian ambassador to Germany, Sergei Netschajew, has criticized the verdict on the Tiergarten murder as “politically motivated”. “We consider this judgment to be a biased and politically motivated decision, which is putting a considerable strain on the already difficult German-Russian relations,” said a statement by the ambassador published on Wednesday.
The Berlin Court of Appeal had previously sentenced a Russian defendant to life imprisonment for the murder of a Georgian in the Kleiner Tiergarten in Berlin in August 2019. The court considered it proven that the order for the murder came from Russian state authorities. Nechayev described the court’s assessment as “absurd” and stated that this point of view was “mixed with anti-Russian sentiments” throughout the proceedings.
Kammergericht Berlin: Russian state agencies had commissioned murder
The Berlin Court of Appeal, however, stated in its judgment that the Russian state authorities had instructed the defendant Vadim K. to “liquidate” the victim as a retaliatory measure. The victim is a Georgian of Chechen origin who, according to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, previously fought against Russia as a militia leader during the Second Chechen War between 2000 and 2004 and was therefore viewed by Russian security forces as an enemy of the state and a terrorist.
According to the Karlsruhe authorities, the convicted K. is a former colonel of the Russian secret service FSB who traveled indirectly to Berlin for the crime with an alias identity. The judges are convinced that the crime was “meticulously” prepared by helpers stationed in Berlin.
Life imprisonment in the zoo murder trial
First report from Wednesday, December 16, 2021, 11.40 a.m.: Berlin – In the process of an alleged Russian contract killing in the Kleiner Tiergarten in Berlin, the defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday. The Berlin Higher Regional Court saw it as proven that the Russian citizen had shot a Georgian of Chechen origin in the park in the capital in August 2019. The case also weighs heavily on German-Russian relations.
The judges also recognized the particular gravity of the guilt, which practically rules out early release. The verdict corresponded to the demands of the federal prosecutor’s office, which had taken over the investigation and the indictment because of the special importance of the case. The authorities are convinced that it was an assassination attempt on behalf of Russian government agencies. The defendant’s defense demanded an acquittal.
Trial of the zoo murder: the case was heard before the State Security Senate
The victim is a Georgian of Chechen origin who, according to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, previously fought against Russia as a militia leader during the Second Chechen War in 2000 and 2004 and was viewed by Russian security forces as an enemy of the state. The accused is therefore a former colonel of the Russian secret service FSB, who traveled to Berlin via detours with an alias for the crime.
The accused was arrested by police near the scene of the crime on August 23, 2019, immediately after the crime and has been in custody ever since. Three shots were fired at the victim from a pistol with a silencer, before the crime, according to the indictment, the defendant approached the victim from behind on a bicycle in the park in central Berlin.
The case was heard before a State Security Senate. The act and the investigation into it put a heavy burden on the relationship between Russia and Germany. After the fact, the German government expelled two Russian diplomats in response. The Russian side rejected the allegations of state contract killing as unfounded *. (sot with dpa / afp) * fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
