Berlin
After the Tiergarten murder: German government declares two Russian diplomats to be “undesirable people”
In the Moabit Criminal Court in Berlin, the verdict in the Tiergarten murder trial was announced on Wednesday
© Christophe Gateau / DPA
After the verdict in the Tiergarten murder, the German government declared two diplomats from the Russian embassy to be undesirable. The case weighs heavily on German-Russian relations.
As a consequence of the Berlin murder sentence against a Russian, the German government declares two employees of the Russian embassy to be “undesirable persons”. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in Berlin that this was explained to the Russian Ambassador Sergei Nechayev on Wednesday during a conversation in the Foreign Office. That amounts to expelling the diplomats.
The Berlin Court of Appeal had previously sentenced a 56-year-old Russian to life imprisonment for the murder of a Georgian of Chechen descent. The State Protection Chamber saw it as proven that the defendant was acting on behalf of Russian state authorities in August 2019 when he shot his victim in the middle of a Berlin park. The court thus followed the arguments of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office.
Baerbock spoke of a “serious violation of German law and the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Germany”. On Tuesday – before the verdict – she telephoned Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and confirmed that she wanted an open and honest exchange with Russia.
“This must take place on the basis of international law and mutual respect,” emphasized the Green politician. It is clear that acts like the murder in the zoo weighed heavily on this exchange. “The federal government will do everything it takes to ensure security in our country and respect for our legal system.”
The Russian ambassador to Germany, Sergei Nechayev, had previously announced a reaction to the murder sentence. At first, however, he did not give any details. “It is an obviously unfriendly act that does not go unrequited,” he said. “The time when the verdict will be pronounced will not be chosen by chance either. Apparently someone has an interest in the dialogue between Russia and the new federal government being overshadowed by it from the start.”
The ambassador criticized the verdict was “not objective, politically motivated and seriously burdensome for the already difficult German-Russian relationship”. He described the allegation that the Russian Federation was involved in the act as “absurd”.
Germany had already expelled two Russian embassy employees according to the first results of the Federal Prosecutor’s investigation into the case. At that time, Russia responded by expelling two German diplomats.
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“Persona non grata”
A “persona non grata” is an “undesirable person”. If a diplomat is declared such a person by a host country, they are no longer welcome. Your work on site will be terminated by the corresponding notification to the home country. The home state is obliged under international law to recall the “persona non grata”; the diplomat in question must leave the host country within a certain period of time. According to the Foreign Office, 48 hours or more are usual. The declaration of “persona non grata” can also be made before someone even arrives in the host country.
The rights and obligations of diplomats are regulated by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VÜD). According to this, the most important prerogative is the immunity of a diplomat. If he is declared a “persona non grata”, the host country can revoke the immunity at the end of the departure period. According to the Federal Foreign Office, concrete misconduct by diplomatic staff is not a prerequisite for declaring “persona non grata”. Rather, this step is entirely at the discretion of the host country and does not need to be justified.