Belarusian court sentences German citizen to death for mercenary activities – JURIST

Human rights organization Viasna reported Friday that a German man has been sentenced to death by firing squad by the Minsk Regional Court in Belarus and “charged with six serious offenses” under the Criminal Code. He has been in custody since November 6, 2023. The German Foreign Ministry confirmed that it was aware of the sentence and condemned the use of the death penalty as “cruel and inhuman.”

Rico Krieger is a German citizen and a former employee of the Red Cross. He previously worked as a special security officer for the U.S. State Department in Berlin. The Belarusian Hajun Project, on X (formerly Twitter), says Krieger’s case is “related to the Kalinouski Regiment, specifically its unit – the “Western” foreign mechanized battalion.” The Kalinouski Regiment is a Belarusian volunteer regiment fighting on the side of Ukraine against Russia.

According to Viasna, Krieger was investigated and found guilty of “organizing an explosion to influence the decision-making of the authorities, intimidating the population, destabilizing public order (a terrorist act) committed by a person who had previously committed a crime under Part 4 of Article 295 of the Criminal Code, as an organized group, that is, committing a crime under Part 3 Article 289 of the Criminal Code.” Viasna says it is unclear which explosion the trial refers to.

Krieger is charged under six articles of the Criminal Code, namely for “mercenary activities”, “agent activities”, “terrorist act”, “creating an extremist formation”, “willful neglect of a vehicle or communication lines” and “illegal acts with regard to firearms, ammunition and explosives”.

Viasna confirms that the Belarusian authorities have not reported anything about the trial and detention, and that this is the first trial in Belarus for “mercenary activities”.

Belarus is the only EU country that imposes the death penalty and maintains secrecy about execution dates and burial sites. The EU reaffirms its opposition to the death penalty and has criticized Belarus in the past for a lack of transparency surrounding the use of the death penalty and reports of violations of the right to a fair trial.