Germany expels Russia diplomats over Berlin murder

Months after a man was shot dead in a Berlin park, Germany is throwing out two Russian diplomats because it suspects the murder was ordered by Russia or Russia’s Chechen republic.

The expulsions come shortly after Germany’s chief prosecutor decided to take over the case.

Germany has accused Russia of failing to assist in the investigation.

Russia has rejected accusations of its involvement as “absolutely groundless” and says it will retaliate.

Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old former Chechen rebel commander, was shot in the head from behind in the Kleiner Tiergarten park in August. A man was quickly arrested but has given little information to police.

German media have compared the attack on Khangoshvili to the attempted murder of Russian former intelligence agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK last year.

The diplomatic row comes at a difficult time for the two countries, five days ahead of a major Ukraine summit involving the leaders of Germany, Russia, France and Ukraine.

“There are sufficient factual grounds to suggest that the killing… was carried out either on behalf of state agencies of the Russian Federation or those of the Autonomous Chechen Republic, as part of the Russian Federation,” Germany’s federal prosecutor said on Wednesday.

The suspect was detained shortly after the killing when he was allegedly seen dumping a bike, pistol and a wig into the nearby River Spree.

The prosecutor says the suspect flew from Moscow to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris six days before the killing under the alias of Vadim S.

Vadim S appeared for the first time in a Russian domestic passport in 2015. Reports on Tuesday suggested his full name was Vadim Sokolov, 49, although that was not thought to be his real identity.

Vadim S is then said to have flown to Warsaw where he stayed in a hotel until August 22.

According to prosecutors, the suspect’s visa said he was travelling as a civil engineer working for a company in St Petersburg called Zao Rust. However, the company is apparently under “reorganisation” and the fax number listed for it is also assigned to companies belonging to the Russian defence ministry. -BBC