German prosecutors have filed murder charges against a Russian man accused in the slaying of a Georgian man in broad daylight in Berlin last year, claiming that the Russian state was behind the killing, according to the federal prosecutors' statement. The lawsuit targets a Russian citizen they identified as Vadim K. alias Vadim S, also charged with a violation of weapons laws, along with murder.
In response to the development in the case, Berlin has warned the Russian side of possible sanctions over the killing, with Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev summoned to the German Foreign Ministry in connection with the ongoing probe.
Following the incident, Germany's Foreign Ministry moved late last year to expel two Russian diplomats, claiming there was "a lack of cooperation" with the investigation. However, Moscow stated at the time the requests came in after the diplomats had been expelled. Russian President Vladimir Putin similarly denied that Russia was reluctant to join efforts on the matter. The president stated in late December 2019 that Moscow and Berlin used to be in contact concerning Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, the killed Georgian man of the Chechen origins.
The victim Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, whose real name is Tornike K., fought against Russian troops in the Russian republic of Chechnya and was among the perpetrators of the 2010 Moscow subway bombings, Putin noted. However, Moscow never filed an extradition request for Khangoshvili because Russian intelligence services considered it pointless given the negative responses they had received from Germany at the inter-agency level, according to the president.
Zelimkhan Khangoshvili was killed in Berlin in August 2019. In early December, Germany claimed that either Russia or local officials in Russia' Chechen region were behind the killing of the Georgian man who fought on the side of Chechen militants from 2000-2004.