Minsk, Berlin in talks over fate of German national sentenced to death in Belarus
- 20 July, 08:18
Belarus has sentenced a German national to death by firing squad, the German Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.
The ministry stressed that Berlin was in intensive contact with authorities in Minsk over the German man’s fate. “The Foreign Office and the embassy in Minsk are giving the person in question consular support and are working intensively with Belarusian authorities on his behalf,” the German ministry statement said.
Belarus confirmed holding negotiations with Germany over the German national’s death sentence. "There were, of course, contacts with the German side on this topic. This criminal is a German citizen, and we understand the German side's concern for him,” Anatoly Glaz, spokesman for the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, said. The Belarusian side has proposed “concrete solutions on the available options,” Glaz stressed, adding that consultations were being conducted by the foreign ministries of the two countries.
Earlier, Belarusian human rights group Viasna reported that a German national named as Rico Krieger had been sentenced to death in Belarus on charges related to terrorism and mercenary activity, citing unnamed sources. The charges against the man might be linked to the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment, a group of Belarusian volunteer fighters fighting against Russia in the war in Ukraine, Viasna reported. It should be noted that this is the first known case of someone being tried for mercenary activity in Belarus.
