Germany has declared two officials of the Embassy of Russia in Berlin persona non grata due to the case of the murder of citizen of Georgia Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany Annalena Baerbock declared, RIA Novosti reports.

“This state-ordered killing, as was confirmed by the court today, is a gross violation of German law and the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Germany. This is why we have summoned the Ambassador of the Russian Federation for a talk. The Russian Ambassador has been informed that two officials of the Embassy of the Russian Federation are declared persona non grata,” Baerbock told reporters.

The Supreme Court of Germany on Wednesday declared citizen of Russia Vadim Sokolov (Krasikov) guilty of the murder of citizen of Georgia Zelimkhan Khangoshvili and sentenced him to life in prison. The prosecution demanded life imprisonment for the accused since it believes the murder was committed ‘based on the task of state agencies of the Government of the Russian Federation’. The defense insisted that the evidence was insufficient.