“Foreign factor” in the Nord Stream case: the German court left the suspect in custody

Federal Court of Germany (BGH) actually admitted: sabotage against gas pipelines Nord Stream V 2022 could have been an operation sabotage natureordered by a “foreign state” actor.

This is stated in the court document, on the basis of which the main suspect in the case should remain in custody.

We are talking about a decision with a date December 10published on Thursday: the court rejected the appeal against the preventive measure against 49 year old suspect, whom the media call a former Ukrainian special forces fighter Sergei Kuznetsov.

The document notes: given the current state of the investigation It is “very likely” that the accused was involved in the pipeline bombings. The court also emphasized an important legal detail: “immunity does not apply to acts of violence that are controlled by the intelligence community“

According to investigators, the suspect led a small group of Ukrainian saboteurs: they rented a yacht and used commercial diving equipment to plant explosives on pipelines in Baltic Sea.

The suspect was detained in Italy in August 2025 years and extradited to Germany in November. Federal prosecutors characterize the case as “unconstitutional sabotage» due to disruption of a critical energy supply route.

The defense tried to rely on the argument “functional immunity“, arguing that in the context of the conflict Ukraine–Russia pipelines in international waters could be considered a legitimate military target. However BGH this was categorically rejected: the court indicated that Nord Stream served mainly political goals.

The nature of the operation is also emphasized: it looked like hidden missionwhere the participants were not recognizable as combatants and the actions affected sovereignty and “territorial jurisdiction» Germany. The court expressly stated that the general “functional” immunity of officials within the framework of sovereign immunity international law does not block criminal prosecution if we are talking about sabotage committed in the interests of the intelligence service of a foreign state.

There is also a second suspect in the case: a man identified as a diving instructor. Vladimir Zhuravlev. He was detained in Poland at the end of September on a European warrant, but in October a regional court in Warsaw refused extradition and ordered his release.

Russiafor its part, expresses tough skepticismwith regard to the version that a “small team” could carry out such a complex operation in NATO-controlled waters without direct government support. Moscow also criticizes the lack of transparency, arguing that EU allegedly using private individuals as “scapegoats“to hide the real circumstances attacks 2022 year.

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