"Germany's highest criminal court, the BGH, last week rejected a claim by Serhii K.* that he should enjoy "combatant privilege" in the case against him. K. is accused of being part of a conspiracy to charter a private yacht, dive down to the depths of the Baltic Sea and blow up a section of gas pipeline in September 2022. He then made his way to Italy, where he was caught and extradited to Germany late last year."
"The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were controversial from the outset. Delivering natural gas from Russia to Europe via Germany, they were heavily criticized for increasing European reliance on Moscow for its energy. They came under even more scrutiny after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. The act of sabotage sent Germany scrambling to secure enough fuel to keep the country warm for the winter, and sent heating prices skyrocketing across the country."
"Moreover, the court wrote, the international law in question "does not cover covert action," where there is no proof, via military uniform or written direct orders, for example, that the saboteurs were working on behalf of state actors Therefore, K. will still be tried for "violating the internal security of the federal republic of Germany," and flouting German sovereignty, and may even be investigated for committing a war crime for attacking civilian equipment, the BGH wrote in a statement."
Germany's Federal Court of Justice (BGH) denied Serhii K.'s claim to combatant privilege. K. is accused of conspiring to charter a yacht, dive to the Baltic Sea depths and blow up a section of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022. He was detained in Italy and extradited to Germany. The BGH classified the pipelines as civilian infrastructure and held that the cited international law "does not cover covert action" absent proof such as military uniform or written direct orders. K. faces charges for violating German internal security, breaching sovereignty, and possible investigation for a war crime. Media speculation continues about state involvement or a false flag.
Read at www.dw.com
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