Russian diplomat found dead outside embassy in Berlin

A Russian diplomat was found dead last month outside the country's Embassy in central Berlin, it emerged on Friday. According to a report from Germany's Der Spiegel news magazine, the man fell from a window.

The popular outlet said the deceased was a 35-year-old secretary who had worked at the embassy. It alleged that the employee appeared to have fallen from an upper floor of the building and that his body was discovered on October 19.

Russia’s embassy in Germany released a short statement in response to the report, saying it would “not be commenting on this tragic event for ethical reasons.”

Reports said officials had not agreed to an autopsy being undertaken in Germany, and the body had therefore been transported to Russia. The German authorities were thus unable to investigate the incident due to the deceased’s diplomatic status, Der Spiegel reported. 

The magazine claimed that Berlin's security services believed the man had been a covert operative of Russia’s chief domestic security agency, the Federal Security Service (the FSB). It didn't provide any evidence to back up this allegation.

“We believe that speculation about this tragic incident, which has appeared in some Western media, is absolutely unacceptable,” the embassy said.

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