Russian Goes on Trial for Suspected State-Backed Murder in Berlin

Judge Olaf Arnoldi sits in the courtroom at the beginning of the trial of defendant Vadim K., in Berlin, Germany, on Oct. 7, 2020. Odd Andersen/Pool via Reuters

BERLIN—A Russian man charged with murdering a former Chechen rebel in Berlin on behalf of Moscow went on trial amid tight security on Wednesday, heaping further pressure on bilateral ties already strained by the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

The shooting in August 2019 of Tornike K., a Georgian who had fought against Russia in Chechnya, led to the expulsion of Russian embassy employees in December.