09:50, 28 June 2020

Spiegel reports second Russian in Khangoshvili murder case

Site of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili 's murder. Screenshot of Der Spiegel's page, author: Paul Zinken/ DPA

German law enforcers have revealed the second possible suspect in the case of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a native of the Pankisi Gorge, who was shot dead in Berlin. This is a resident of Saint Petersburg, who, when applying for a Schengen visa, indicated the same place of work as the first figurant, Der Spiegel informs.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Zelimkhan Khangoshvili was killed in Berlin on August 23, 2019. A Russian citizen was detained on suspicion of killing him. According to the German General Prosecutor's Office (GPO), the suspected killer had been hired by Russian authorities.

The first suspect in Khangoshvili's murder case had served in the FSB's "Vympel" special detachment; this was announced on December 6, 2019, as the outcome of a joint inquiry held by the Insider, Bellingcat and Der Spiegel. Later, in February 2020, these editions stated that the suspect's telephone billing had confirmed his repeated calls to Russian FSB special services, as well as his attending the training centres of Russian special forces.

The Federal Criminal Police Office and the Prosecutor's Office of Germany believe that a certain Roman D. from Petersburg may be involved in the preparation of the murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, says the article posted on June 26 on Der Spiegel's website. The edition, citing its own sources, reports that the above suspect had filed an application for a passport and a Schengen visa on the same day as the first suspect, whose case has been already sent to court.

According to Der Spiegel, Roman D. and the first suspect, when applying for visas, indicated that they were engineers at the Petersburg-based Closed Joint-Stock Company (CJSC) "Rust". Besides, it is reported that a few months before the murder, both men were in the town of Orekhovo-Zuevo, near Moscow, where, according to Der Spiegel, FSB's special agents are training.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 27, 2020 at 04:30 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.