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Berlin Murder Suspect Linked to Russian State Security: Report

An investigation has stated the suspect travelled on a fake ID believed to have been issued by the Russian state.

The man suspected of murdering a Georgian citizen in Berlin last week has been linked to Russian security services. Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, who had previously fought alongside anti-Moscow separatists in Chechnya, was shot twice in the head last Friday. A joint investigation between Bellingcat, Der Spiegel, and The Insider found that the suspect travelled to Berlin using a passport under the name of Vadim Andreevich Sokolov. However, nobody of that name was found in the Russian national passport register, suggesting the state's security apparatus provided a fake identity. Moreover, his passport number was linked with an interior ministry unit that has previously issued ID documents for GRU agents. It's been reported that the suspect travelled by air from Moscow to Paris on a French-issued visa, before crossing into Germany. He has reportedly denied any involvement in the murder and Russia has also officially disowned any link. Khangoshvili was previously the subject of two assassination attempts in Georgia.