Germany accuses Russia of ‘contract killing’ in Berlin park
- The former Chechen commander was shot twice in the head in Kleiner Tiergarten park
German prosecutors on Thursday accused Russia of ordering the murder of a Georgian man in a central Berlin park, as they charged a suspected contract killer over the crime that has frayed ties.
The accusation was swiftly dismissed as “unfounded” by the Russian ambassador in Berlin.
The German government warned of sanctions against Moscow as the diplomatic row between the two countries heated up over the case that has been likened to the poisoning of former Russian agent Sergei Skripal in Britain in 2018.
“At an unknown date before 18 July 2019, the accused received the order from authorities at the central government of the Russian Federation to liquidate the Georgian national of Chechen origin, Tornike K,” said federal prosecutors in a statement that named the killer as Vadim K, alias Vadim S.
The victim, a former Chechen commander, was shot twice in the head at close range in Kleiner Tiergarten park, which lies minutes away from the German parliament and chancellery.
