A court in Germany denied the operators of the Nord Stream pipelines access to the case concerning the explosions on the gas pipelines
Kyiv • UNN
Nord Stream AG and Nord Stream 2 AG were not admitted to the proceedings as injured parties. The court in Hamburg will hear the sabotage case on October 14.
The operator Nord Stream AG and the company Nord Stream 2 AG will not be able to act as injured parties with the rights of the prosecution in the proceedings concerning the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines for now. The Higher Regional Court of Hamburg made this ruling. Bild reports, writes UNN.
Details
The court found that the companies had suffered losses as a result of the explosions, but saw no grounds for their participation in the proceedings as injured parties supporting the prosecution. The claimed losses, amounting to hundreds of millions of euros, were not deemed existential by the court: these are companies backed by multibillion-euro investments in the pipelines.
The court separately emphasized that the task of criminal proceedings is to establish whether the accused committed a crime. The court does not intend to examine the entire history surrounding Nord Stream within these proceedings, identify other possible perpetrators, or lay the groundwork for future compensation claims.
If accusations are made against the companies themselves during the proceedings, they will be able to reapply to participate in the proceedings as injured parties.
The controlling stake in Nord Stream AG belongs to Russia's Gazprom, while Nord Stream 2 AG is fully under its control. Charges have already been brought against an alleged participant in the sabotage, a Ukrainian citizen; another suspect was previously detained abroad. Both deny involvement. The trial itself in Hamburg is scheduled to begin on October 14.