A months-long investigation by Bellingcat and its partners, The Insider and Der Spiegel, has uncovered that the assassination of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin last August was planned and organized by Russia’s FSB security agency. The preparation for the murder was supervised directly by Eduard Bendersky, chairman of the Vympel Charitable Fund For Former FSB Spetsnaz Officers, and other senior members of the fund, apparently to provide a veneer of deniability. However, we have determined that essential support for the operation — both for training the assassin and for issuance of false identity papers — was provided directly by the FSB and on the grounds of the FSB’s so-called Center of Special Operations.
Bellingcat: FSB behind assassination of Georgian asylum seeker in Germany
This file photo taken on Aug. 23, 2019 shows forensic experts of the police securing evidences at the site of a crime scene in Berlin's Moabit district, where a man of Georgian origin was shot dead. German media suppose an involvement of Russia in the assassination-style killing in the Berlin park of the Georgian who had fought against Russian forces in Chechnya. The victim, reportedly a veteran of the second Chechen War from 1999 to 2009 and identified as Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, was shot dead on Aug. 23, 2019 after an assassination attempt four years ago led to him fleeing Georgia.
