German court convicts Russian of 2019 Berlin park murder

A German court on Wednesday found Russian citizen Vadim Krasikov guilty of the August 2019 murder of Tornike Khangoshvili, an ethnic Chechen of Georgian nationality, in a central Berlin park, and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The court said his crime, believed by prosecutors to have been ordered by Russian state security, was of particular gravity.

A German court on Wednesday found Russian citizen Vadim Krasikov guilty of the August 2019 murder of Tornike Khangoshvili, an ethnic Chechen of Georgian nationality, in a central Berlin park, and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

The court said his crime, believed by prosecutors to have been ordered by Russian state security, was of particular gravity. "Four children lost their father, two siblings their brother," the judge said.

"Some media suggested that Russia or even (Russian president) Vladimir Putin are on trial here," he added. "That's misleading: only the convict is on the bench. But our task does involve considering the circumstances of the crime." Khangoshvili was shot dead at close range in broad daylight on Aug. 23, 2019. Police arrested Krasikov later the same day.