BBC: Slovakia to Expel Russian Diplomats in Relation to Georgian Man's Murder

Slovakia is to expel three staff from the Russian embassy in the capital, Bratislava, with local media reporting it is related to the murder of a Georgian man in Berlin last year, BBC reports.

"Authorities cited the abuse of Slovak visas as a reason for the expulsions.

"Germany has accused Russia of ordering the murder of the former Chechen rebel Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, the veteran of the Russo-Chechen war.

"The 40-year-old was shot dead in broad daylight last August in Berlin's Kleiner Tiergarten park.

"A Russian national identified as Vadim K has been charged with the murder," reads the article. 

Why are the diplomats being expelled?

"Based on the information from the Slovak intelligence services, their activities were in contradiction with the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations," a Slovak foreign ministry spokesman said.

"On top of that, there had been an abuse of visas issued at the Slovak general consulate in St Petersburg, and in this connection, a serious crime was committed on the territory of another EU and NATO member state," he said.

The publication further reads that Local media and investigative website bellingcat.com have reported that one of those suspected of planning the murder had traveled to the EU on a Slovak visa.

All three must leave the country by 13 August.

In December, Germany expelled two Russian diplomats due to suspicions the Kremlin was involved in the murder. Russia responded by expelling two German diplomats.

By Ana Dumbadze 

Source: BBC

Image: Georgian protesters held images of the murdered man outside the German embassy in Tbilisi in September 2019

Image credit: EPA