The executions take place in the “Volodarka”, Minsk’s number one detention facility. The delinquent is forced to his knees in front of a bullet trap by two executioners while blindfolded, and a third shoots him in the back of the neck with a pistol.
Belarus, where dictator Alexander Lukashenko has ruled for 30 years, is the only country in Europe that currently carries out the death penalty.
On June 21, the court in the Minsk region sentenced the German Rico Krieger to death, as Belarusian opposition media now report. The text of the guilty verdict is not known. The exile portal Zerkalo.io writes that Krieger was charged with mercenary activities, terrorism and participation in an extremist group.
The Russian propaganda portal news.ru claims that Krieger joined the Kastus Kalinovsky Regiment, a Belarusian volunteer unit fighting on the Ukrainian side, in 2023. Representatives of the regiment denied any connection to Krieger.
The German Foreign Office confirmed the verdict to the OÖN. German diplomats are working hard with the Belarusian authorities on behalf of the person concerned. Details are not known – including whether a Russian or Belarusian prisoner in the West is to be released in exchange for Krieger. A statement by the Belarusian Foreign Ministry that “concrete solutions” are being negotiated suggests that the death sentence is intended to put pressure on German diplomacy.
Rico Krieger, 30, a trained automotive mechatronics engineer, worked as a security guard at the US embassy in Berlin from 2014 to 2017, and then as a nurse, according to his LinkedIn page. He is said to have worked as a Red Cross paramedic since 2021.
Author
Stefan Scholl
Russia correspondent
Stefan Scholl
