Germany: Life imprisonment for a Russian citizen who killed an opponent of the Chechen regime in a park in Berlin

Reuters

15/12/2021

Wednesday, 15 December 2021, 14:08 Updated: 14:13

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A German court today (Wednesday) sentenced a Russian citizen convicted of the murder of an opponent of the Chechen regime in a park in central Berlin in August 2019, and ruled that Vadim Krasnikov acted on Moscow's orders.

Zelimkhan Khangushvili, a Georgian citizen of Chechen descent, fought alongside Chechen separatists who demanded independence from Russia in the second Chechen war in the early 2000s.

He was killed in three shots from a Glock pistol, in broad daylight.

"In June 2019, at the latest, official arms of the Central Government of the Russian Federation made the decision to eliminate him in Berlin," Judge Olaf Arnoldi ruled.

The assassination further intensified tensions between the West and Russia, and Western governments were called upon to step up the fight against Russia's activity in their countries.

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• Chechnya