Gas pipelines blown up – trial now underway
Just over four years have passed since the explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines off Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. The trial has now begun in Hamburg.
“It is taking place in our special security wing,” Marayke Frantzen, the court’s spokesperson, told the German public service broadcaster NDR.
Seven people are suspected of being involved in the sabotage in September 2022 of the Russian-owned Nord Stream gas pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany.
One of the main suspects, a Ukrainian man who was arrested last year, is the first to stand trial. He is accused of using a false identity and of hiring a yacht in Germany, from which, according to the indictment, the sabotage is alleged to have been carried out. The 50-year-old man is charged with committing war crimes by using “methods of warfare”, according to the indictment, reports NDR. The man denies the charges.
Protesters outside the court in Hamburg.
Great interest
There is great interest in the trial – over a hundred journalists and photographers are present on the first day of the trial, according to the Hamburg court.
The trial began at 11.00. When the accused man entered the courtroom, he gave a brief military salute, reports NDR. He then refused to comment.
The man’s defence lawyers are arguing that the case against him should be dismissed. The defence claims that, as the 50-year-old was an officer in the Ukrainian army, he is unable to speak out and is “forced to defend himself with his hands tied”.
The proceedings were adjourned after just over two hours. The next hearing is not until 27 October.
The trial is expected to last a long time; 16 court sessions have been scheduled so far.
The sabotage of Nord Stream took place in international waters, within the Danish and Swedish exclusive economic zones. The sabotage is believed to have been carried out by a group of divers who attached explosive charges to the pipelines at a depth of around 80 metres. According to information from the investigation, the suspected perpetrators were recruited in Ukraine.
Germany is the only country bordering the Baltic Sea to have brought charges, following the closure of the investigations in Sweden and Denmark.
Ukraine denies state involvement
Kiev and Moscow have accused each other of being behind the explosions. Ukraine has denied any state involvement in the sabotage.
Russia’s Nord Stream 2 project was completed in 2021 but never came into operation, as Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine the following year. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline was commissioned in 2011 but was shut down for maintenance work prior to the explosions. It has remained closed since the sabotage.
