World Courant
A courtroom in Belarus has sentenced a German physician to loss of life after discovering him responsible on expenses associated to terrorism and mercenary actions, human rights activists mentioned.
Rico Krieger, 30, was convicted of six crimes in a closed trial in June, Viasna, one in every of Belarus’s main activist organizations, mentioned in an announcement. The group mentioned he now confronted execution by firing squad.
The motive for the fees stays unclear and the nation’s state information company gave no additional particulars in regards to the allegations in its report.
Belarus is the final nation in Europe to nonetheless perform the loss of life penalty, saying it reserves the punishment for severe crimes, together with treason.
In accordance with Viasna, Mr Krieger’s alleged crimes included mercenary work, espionage, terrorism, creating an extremist group and unlawful operations involving firearms and explosives.
In accordance with the Public Prosecution Service, it was the primary time that somebody in Belarus was tried for mercenary actions.
The group, primarily based within the Belarusian capital Minsk, mentioned Mr Krieger, who labored as a health care provider for the German Purple Cross, had been held since November 2023.
Components of the trial have been held behind closed doorways and Viasna mentioned it was not clear whether or not Krieger had appealed the decision or whether or not it had already taken impact.
His LinkedIn profile mentioned he beforehand labored as a safety guard on the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, earlier than shifting into well being care as a nurse specializing in emergency care.
Viasna steered that the fees towards Mr Krieger may stem from his alleged involvement with the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment, a gaggle of Belarusian residents who volunteered to struggle towards Russian troopers in Ukraine. The BBC has not been in a position to independently confirm this.
The regiment is known as after the Belarusian-Polish author, journalist and lawyer, who was executed in 1864 for main an rebellion towards Russia.
It isn’t instantly clear what connection Mr. Krieger needed to the group. Opposition media in Belarus reported that he might have been linked to a unit inside the regiment often called the “Western” battalion.
In a short assertion, the German International Ministry confirmed that one in every of its residents had been sentenced to loss of life in Minsk, however didn’t title Mr Krieger.
“The Ministry of International Affairs and the embassy in Minsk are offering consular assist to the individual in query and are cooperating intensively with the Belarusian authorities on his behalf,” the ministry mentioned. Germany considers the loss of life penalty “a merciless and inhuman type of punishment.”
“We’re working globally to abolish it,” the assertion mentioned.
In a put up on X, Belarusian opposition chief Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who lives in exile in Lithuania, mentioned she was “involved by the information.”
Alexander Lukashenko has led Belarus since 1994. He has lengthy tried to play the EU and Russia towards one another, whereas nonetheless remaining in energy in Minsk.
However he has develop into more and more reliant on Russian President Vladimir Putin since mass protests swept the nation after he gained the 2020 presidential election over Ms Tsikhanouskaya.
The West refuses to acknowledge his declare.
Belarus sentences German physician to loss of life, activists say
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