Room 237 of Hamburg's Hanseatic Higher Regional Court is no ordinary courtroom. Here, particularly dangerous individuals, like radical Islamists, are put on trial — naturally with special security measures in place. This Friday, 68-year-old Vladimir D. goes on trial here. The public prosecutor general accuses the Russian man, who lives in southern Germany, of having violated Germany's foreign trade law in eight instances. He is accused of having sold goods to "Russian military agents" in breach of EU sanctions regime against the county, Eurasia Diary reports citing Deutsche Welle.
DW asked both the defendant's lawyer and the prosecutor general to comment on the case ahead of the trial, but received no reply. So far, the only information available on the case stems from two press releases by federal prosecutors.
Shortly before Christmas 2018, the prosecutors' office announced that Vladimir D. had been arrested by German customs officers. His apartment and offices in the western state of Baden-Württemberg were searched, and he remains remanded in custody. If found guilty by the court, he faces a jail term of between one and 15 years.