- Belarus has executed about 400 people since independence
- The country is ruled as an authoritarian regime by long-time leader Lukashenko
A German man sentenced to death by a court in Belarus was forced to beg for his life on state television, prompting Berlin to call on Minsk to stop “parading” prisoners.
Rico Krieger, 30, was convicted in a secret trial in late June under six articles of the Belarusian criminal code, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.
Appearing on Belarusian public television, handcuffed and behind bars, he said: “I really hope that President (Alexander) Lukashenko will forgive me and grant me a pardon,” according to a statement quoted by Russia’s TASS news agency.
Kathrin Deschauer, a spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry, said Friday that “it is unfortunately common practice in Belarus to present people in this way in videos or on television. We are of course very concerned that parading people around in this way is a huge violation of the dignity of that person.”
“We can only appeal to the Belarusian leadership to stop this practice,” she told reporters.
Rico Krieger, 30, pictured, appeared on Belarusian state television to beg for his life
German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer has called on Minsk to stop “parading” prisoners as
“We have provided consular services to the prisoner involved and are deeply concerned about his case,” Deschauer said, adding that “as a government, we fundamentally reject the death penalty under any circumstances.”
Mr. Krieger revealed how he In October 2023, he was asked by Ukraine to photograph military sites in Belarus and that, on their orders, he had placed an explosive device on a railway line near Minsk.
“I deeply regret what I did and I am relieved that there were no casualties,” he added, claiming he had been “abandoned” by the German government.
According to a LinkedIn profile that Viasna said belonged to Krieger, he worked as a medic for the German Red Cross and previously served as an armed security guard for the U.S. Embassy in Berlin.
According to Amnesty International, as many as 400 people have been executed since Belarus gained independence in 1991. However, executions of foreign citizens are rare.
The country is ruled by an authoritarian regime led by longtime leader Lukashenko, who has arrested thousands of dissidents and civil activists who oppose him.
Vladimir Putin is pictured with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, right, during a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Union State in St. Petersburg, Russia, earlier this year
Krieger’s case comes after China and Belarus held military exercises near the Polish border earlier this month.
The maneuvers, which ostensibly coincided with the 76th anniversary of the NATO summit, offered a troubling indication of Beijing’s ties.
Despite international condemnation, China continues to support Russia’s occupation of Ukraine by supplying components and technologies used in the production of missiles, tanks and aircraft.
Now it has sent elite troops to Belarus, Russia’s neighbor and ally in the conflict in Ukraine.
It happened hours after a Russian missile attack on the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital, which killed two adults.