Ordered murder of dissident

Germany expels Russian diplomats after court rules Moscow ordered murder of dissident

Incident represents ‘serious violation’ of German law and sovereignty, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.

BY LAURENZ GEHRKE

Germany expelled two Russian diplomats Wednesday after a Berlin court ruled a man had murdered a Chechen dissident on behalf of the Moscow government in what the presiding judge declared was an act of “state terrorism.”

In 2019, the court found that the Russian citizen, identified as 56-year-old Vadim K., shot a former Chechen rebel commander of Georgian origin named Tornike K. twice from behind with a pistol equipped with a silencer in Berlin’s Kleiner Tiergarten park before firing another “well-aimed shot at the back of the head of the victim, who was already lying motionless on the ground.”

The court said Vadim K. “had received an order from a state agency within the government of the Russian Federation” to kill Tornike K., “because of his negative attitude toward the Russian central state and his role in the Second Chechen War.” The presiding judge called the incident an act of “state terrorism” when he announced the verdict, sentencing the man to life in prison.

The Russian ambassador to Germany, Sergej Netschajew, dismissed the verdict as “absurd” and threatened to retaliate.

“This conclusion of the court proceedings causes us great concern. It is an obviously unkind act that will not go unanswered,” Netschajew said.

“The absurd allegation that the Russian Federation was involved in the crime was continuously imposed on the public throughout the course of the trial and woven into the general anti-Russian context, but without ever having been substantiated with viable evidence,” Netschajew added, alleging that a Ukrainian witness in the trial had faced pressure to speak.

“Obviously, someone has an interest in this overshadowing the dialogue between Russia and the new [German] government from the very beginning,” Netschajew said.

Following Netschajew’s remarks, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she had summoned him for talks in light of the court decision and that two members of his staff had been declared as “unwelcome.” German tabloid Bild reported that the two must leave Germany within a week, while Spiegel reported that they are members of Russia’s FSB secret service.

The murder “represents a serious violation of German law and the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Germany,” Baerbock said.

Baerbock also said she spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the phone Tuesday to discuss the importance of respectful dialogue.

“It is quite clear that actions such as the Tiergarten murder put a heavy strain on this exchange,” she said.

Earlier on Wednesday, during his first speech to parliament as German chancellor, Olaf Scholz said that while Germany was open to “constructive dialogue” with Russia, any aggression against Ukraine would carry “a high price” amid concerns that Moscow is preparing a multi-front offensive against Kyiv, amassing troops at the border.

“Any violation of territorial integrity will come at a price, a high price, and we will speak with one voice here with our European partners and transatlantic allies,” Scholz said.