Dispute over zoo murder: "up to the elbows in the blood"
Created: 01/01/2022Updated: 01/01/2022, 6:20 AM
The murder occurred in August 2019 in the Kleiner Tiergarten park in Berlin.
© Paul Zinken / dpa
In the trial of the so-called Tiergarten Murder, a Russian was recently sentenced to life imprisonment.
The Russian ambassador in Berlin speaks of political influence.
Berlin - The Russian ambassador to Germany, Sergei Netschajew, has renewed his accusation of exerting political influence on the verdict in the so-called Tiergartenmord trial.
“I can't tell who put the pressure on. I only see that from the beginning there was always only one version in discussion, ”he told the German Press Agency, referring to the court's assessment that state agencies in Russia had commissioned the murder. “There was a lot of ado about this process. But there was no convincing evidence that Russian state agencies were involved in the murder. "
Nechayev also reiterated the allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin made two years ago against the murder victim - a Georgian of Chechen descent.
"President Putin said he was a terrorist and that he was up to his elbow in blood," he said.
Nechayev also indirectly criticized the fact that the man was allowed to stay in Germany.
“The man who was killed has many people on his conscience and of course he had many enemies because of that.
He found a domicile in Germany - despite all his sins and crimes - and was murdered.
Diplomatic tensions
Shortly before Christmas, the Berlin Superior Court sentenced a Russian to life imprisonment for the murder in the Kleiner Tiergarten park in August 2019.
The judges are convinced that the now 56-year-old acted on behalf of Russian government agencies.
In response, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock declared two diplomats from the Russian embassy in Berlin to be “undesirable persons”, which amounts to expulsion.
Russia responded by expelling two German diplomats.
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Netschajew emphasized that Germany now wants to continue working on a positive agenda.
"We do not want to alienate Russians and Germans, we are oriented towards a constructive dialogue and cooperation for mutual benefit." Dpa
