Russian diplomat found dead in Berlin was a spy: report
A Russian diplomat found dead outside the embassy in Berlin last month was a spy with links to Russia’s FSB intelligence service, according to Der Spiegel.
German police found the body of the 35-year-old man who apparently fell from an upper-story window of the embassy.
He was listed as the Second Embassy Secretary at the Russian Embassy in Berlin since 2019, but German security agencies believed him to be an undercover FSB employee, according to the report.
German security sources told the magazine it was unclear how the diplomat had fallen and what had caused his death. The Russian Embassy has not agreed to an autopsy, Der Spiegel said.
The Russian Embassy told local German media that the man’s cause of death was “unknown,” but that they were considering it a “tragic accident,” the report added.
“All formalities linked to repatriating the body of the diplomat were promptly settled with the responsible law enforcement and medical authorities of Germany in accordance with the practices in place,” the embassy said in its statement to Interfax, according to Reuters.
The Russian Embassy did not allow German authorities to conduct an autopsy and sent the body back to Russia just days after the incident.
Der Spiegel also reported that because the deceased had diplomatic status, the public prosecutor could not carry out a death investigation.
A German Foreign Ministry spokesman said at a news briefing on Friday that the German government was aware of the death of a Russian diplomat in Berlin but could not provide any details, Reuters reported.
The Russian Embassy in Berlin did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
According to investigative website Bellingcat, the man was the son of the deputy director of FSB’s Second Service and the head of the FSB’s Directorate for Protection of Constitutional Order, Gen. Alexey Zhalo.
Western intelligence services have tied the FSB’s Second Service to the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny.
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