Germany deported 48 people to Georgia, including the brother of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, according to information published by Deutsche Welle.

According to the outlet, on October 23, Brandenburg police entered the apartment of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili’s family in the city of Wünsdorf, where Khangoshvili was killed in Berlin in August 2019, and transferred 12 family members to Berlin’s airport for deportation. Among those deported is Zelimkhan Khangoshvili’s brother, Zurab Khangoshvili.

Khangoshvili’s relatives told the outlet that the family’s lawyers attempted to halt the deportation but were unsuccessful, and the plane departed for Tbilisi.

On Friday, Sonja Kock, spokesperson for Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior, confirmed to Deutsche Welle that 48 people were deported from Berlin to Tbilisi but did not disclose their identities.

"The responsibility for organizing deportations lies with the federal states. The federal government supports them. The number of deportations has significantly increased recently," Kock stated.

For reference, Georgian citizen Zelimkhan Khangoshvili was killed in central Berlin on August 23, 2019. A Berlin court sentenced Russian citizen and FSB agent Vadim Krasikov to life imprisonment for the murder. The German prosecutor’s office stated that the killing was carried out on Russia’s orders.

On August 1, 2024, as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries, Germany handed Krasikov over to Russia.