Germany expels Russian diplomats over possible Moscow involvement in Berlin murder

Former Chechen insurgent was shot dead in broad daylight in a park in Berlin

The Russian embassy in Berlin (EPA)

The German government ordered the expulsion of two Russian diplomats on Wednesday in response to what they described as “real indications” Russian authorities stood behind the broad daylight assassination of a Chechen exile in Berlin.

A statement released on the site of the German Foreign Ministry suggested the move followed the “insufficient participation” of Moscow in the murder investigation. The case will now be examined by intelligence prosecutors, it said.

Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a former Chechen insurgent, was shot dead in central Berlin park in August. According to witnesses, his assassin approached on a bicycle from behind, before firing from a Glock-26 pistol at point blank range. The man was arrested following a failed getaway.

German prosecutors say the suspect entered the country using a Russian passport under the name of Vadim Sergeyevich Sokolov. This appears to be a fake identity. According to a joint investigation carried out by Bellingcat, Der Spiegel and The Insider, the passport serial number corresponds to those issued to known Russian intelligence officers.

Mr Khangoshvili’s funeral took place in Georgia in August (AP)

The Russian Foreign Ministry, which described the German move as “unfounded and unfriendly”, has said it will respond asymmetrically.

“Mixing politics with a police investigation is unacceptable,” a spokesman told the Kommersant newspaper shortly after the news broke. “A complex of retaliatory measures will be required in response.”

Mr Khangoshvili, 41, was an ethnic Chechen hailing from the Pankisi gorge region in northern Georgia. He fought in the second Chechen war (1998-2002), and continued to support separatist fighters after returning to Georgia. He remained an obvious target for Russian and Chechen intelligence.

The victim had already survived two assassination attempts before his murder. It was following a 2015 attack that he left Georgia to seek asylum in Germany.

At the time of his death, Mr Khangoshvili was awaiting an appeal against deportation.