But it depends on why they were after that guy. People in a theater and kids at a school were slaughtered by Chechen extremist. If that guy planned it or had a major operational role in it, I can SE why they wanted him, we have done similar many times. I do think that they should have brought their case to German leaders, presented evidence and had the guy extradited to Russia. To kill him in a park in a country where there is rule of law was wrong.

crime in a theater occur!

There were something like 3 slaughters of innocent people in Russia during his time with the extremist, the theater and elementary school were by far the bloodiest. In the theater something like 100-200 people died and at the school a similar number of kids died over a week or two week standoff between the extremists and Russian security forces. So, if he had any significant role in either, I can see why they want him, but murdering him was not the right choice in a country like Germany.

Is there evidence that this particular individual was involved in any of the theater attacks? It's strange that the BND would allow him to resettle in Germany if so.

That war was a brutal war. Russia doesn't have clean hands by any measure, but attacking theater goers and school children is wrong. Russia must feel that they have the goods on him, Putin is a killer, but I am not sure that he has killed someone who was of no threat to him or who had not done what he saw as an unforgivable acts against Russia. The way the guy was taken out makes me believe that some type of vengeance was being done.

He was certainly high up in the Chechen war against the Russians, much of which was conventional and guerilla warfare between armed factions, but that doesn't mean he was involved in the actions you're citing. The fact that the Germans allowed him into Germany actually suggests that he wasn't involved, as the Germans have a) extremely good intelligence on such extremists and b) low tolerance for such extremists.

I agree, in any case, with your previous claim that there is no excuse for extra-judicial assassinations of this kind when extradition can be reasonably requested.

Such a thing happen enough that it should not be of a surprise. The Germans would not know him, but the Russians surely would.

I don't disagree with your conclusion that his killing was flat out murder. If the Russians had something on him, they should have worked through the German system for resolving their complaint.

The BND didn't know he was there until he was gunned down in a public park?

Is that right?

That is not something that is new.

Did it happen in this case?

Seems like a stretch, honestly. I've seen nothing to support that claim, in any case. Have you?

after his murder. So I have no idea of what he was known as before his murder. I would doubt that Germany would allow a high level person associated with Chechen extremism migrate to Germany under his actual name, but I admits speculating on this point. Both sides (and I hate that term) did some horrible things in that war zone and in places that were not part of the war zone.

I hope we don't stray from such institutional norms of legal conduct.

In any case, the Germans are essentially saying that these two Russian nationals protected under diplomatic immunity were involved in a conspiracy - at the very least - to commit murder. Strikes me as nothing to sneeze at.

Or, is it more likely that the guy was a non-violent political enemy who Putin assassinated, as he has done so many times in the past?

The guy was a leader at a time when both sides were doing brutal things, like killing innocents.

From Russia with blood. If you want to dig further into what Putin is doing all over the world.
I bet he enjoyed it was near Merkel’s office.

He's not afraid.

Germany does not maintain a standing team of assassins under diplomatic cover. This is not 1939. If Russia wants to expel two German diplomats, it can, obviously, but it will run a very real danger that the German diplomats it expels were exactly who they said they were, as opposed to the Russians being asked to leave.