Russia

Germany: Kremlin Ordered Brazen Killing of Georgian Man in Berlin

RED-HANDED

The victim was of Chechen ethnicity and fought against Russian troops in Chechnya.

GettyImages-1163806250_1_trxwqc
Christoph Soeder / Getty

German prosecutors have formally accused the Russian government of ordering the killing of a Georgian man in broad daylight in a Berlin park last year. The victim, who has been identified in reports as Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, was a Georgian citizen of Chechen ethnicity who fought against Russian troops in Chechnya. He was assassinated on Aug. 23 last year. On Thursday, German prosecutors filed murder charges against a Russian man and accused the Kremlin of arranging the murder. Russia’s ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry in Berlin on Thursday following the announcement, according to The New York Times. The suspect was only identified identified as Vadim K., and prosecutors said that “state agencies of the central government of the Russian Federation” gave him the task of “liquidating” the victim. Prosecutors said the suspect was motivated either by “financial reward or he shared the motives of those who tasked him to kill a political opponent.” The suspected allegedly shot the victim three times and was arrested near the scene.

Read it at The New York Times

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.