German prosecutors have charged a 47-year old Vietnamese citizen for helping to kidnap high-profile oil executive Trinh Xuan Thanh from central Berlin last year, from where he was whisked to Vietnam and imprisoned, they said on Wednesday.
The case, reminiscent of Cold War-style disappearances, angered Berlin and soured relations with Hanoi.
Federal prosecutors in Karlsruhe said they believe the suspect, identified only as Long N.H., helped with the logistics of the kidnapping, such as renting a vehicle that was used. He was arrested in the Czech Republic in August and handed to German authorities and remains in detention.
In January, Thanh was sentenced to life in prison in Vietnam for violating state regulations and embezzlement.