Nord Stream trial: prosecutor urges Hamburg court to reject bid to halt case

Federal prosecutor Stefan Schmidt urged a Hamburg court on Tuesday to reject a defence request to halt the Nord Stream sabotage trial, arguing that Ukrainian military secrecy obligations did not prevent Serhii Kuznetsov from receiving a fair trial.

The dispute dominated the second day of proceedings against Kuznetsov, a former Ukrainian military officer accused of helping organise the September 2022 operation that damaged three of the four Nord Stream pipeline strings beneath the Baltic Sea.

Schmidt challenged the defence's reading of the European Convention on Human Rights, arguing its protections could not be interpreted as allowing a state to block a prosecution simply by withholding permission for a defendant to disclose information covered by secrecy rules.

At the trial's opening on 14 October, Kuznetsov's lawyers sought to have proceedings discontinued. They argued his obligations under Ukrainian military secrecy rules left him unable to answer the allegations and mount an effective defence, and they disputed the prosecution's characterisation of the pipelines as civilian infrastructure.

Kuznetsov faces charges including causing an explosion, destroying structures, disrupting public services and committing a war crime involving an attack on civilian objects. He denies involvement. The prosecution alleges the operation was carried out on behalf of Ukrainian state authorities; Ukraine has denied responsibility.

The judges retired to consider the arguments. No decision on the defence's request had been announced at the time of the wire.