Autopsy Ordered for German Lawmaker Who Criticized Russia
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Version 0 of 1. The German authorities are conducting an autopsy on a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party who was also a well-known critic of Russia after he died suddenly at his home in southwestern Germany on Saturday. The cause of death has not been established, though the German news media have suggested that the lawmaker, Andreas Schockenhoff, 57, died of a heart attack. “We decided to do this to counter any conspiracy theories or speculation later,” said Karl-Josef Diehl of the state prosecutors’ office in Ravensburg. Mr. Schockenhoff was the German government’s coordinator for Russia from 2006 until early 2014, and a strong opponent of President Vladimir V. Putin. Two years ago, the Russian Foreign Ministry refused to recognize him as a government representative after he criticized Mr. Putin. |