The next hearing in Hamburg’s Nord Stream sabotage trial is scheduled for Nov. 4, after judges rejected a defense bid to stop proceedings, Anadolu Agency and dpa reported.
The presiding judge said Ukrainian military rules did not prevent the defendant from giving evidence in Germany. Defense lawyers had argued that the rules kept him from sharing information needed for his defense and made a fair trial impossible, the agencies reported.
Hamburg’s Hanseatic Higher Regional Court said that, in a Sept. 2 decision, it admitted the indictment against a defendant identified in court materials as Serhii K. The court described sufficient grounds to suspect he acted as a co-perpetrator in a war crime involving prohibited methods of warfare through an attack on civilian objects. Other alleged offenses include causing an explosion, damaging structures and disrupting public services. The trial opened Oct. 14, and the allegations have not been established in court.
The explosions damaged pipelines built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany on Sept. 26, 2022. The court lists further sessions through Dec. 17, with additional January and February 2027 dates planned but not finalized.
