German citizen sentenced to death in Belarus, charged with terrorism, mercenary activities

A German citizen has been sentenced to death in Belarus after being charged with terrorism and mercenary activities, according to a Belarusian human rights group.

The group Human Rights Center “Viasna” said the German national is a 29-year-old German Red Cross employee named Rico Krieger.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he worked as an emergency medical technician for the German Red Cross and as an armed security officer for the US Embassy in Berlin.

Krieger was sentenced in the Minsk Regional Court on June 24, Viasna said on its website on Friday.

Krieger was charged under six articles of the Criminal Code of Belarus, according to Viasna, including “mercenary activity,” “agent activity,” an “act of terrorism,” the “creation of an extremist formation,” “intentional disrepair of a vehicle or communication lines,” and “illegal actions in relation to firearms, ammunition and explosives.”

Viasna also reported that Krieger was found guilty of “arranging an explosion in order to influence decision-making by authorities, intimidate the population, [and] destabilize public order.” It is unclear exactly what led up to Krieger’s alleged crimes or when they occurred.

“The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane form of punishment that Germany rejects under all circumstances. We are actively working worldwide to abolish it and are strongly advocating against its execution in all affected cases,” the spokesperson added.

Belarus says it has ensured consular access to a German national, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Anatoly Glaz said in a statement on X. Minsk has “proposed a number of options” to Germany “for the development of the situation,” he said, according to Belarusian state media BelTA. 

“There have been contacts with the German side on this topic, of course. This criminal is a German citizen and we understand the German side’s concern for him,” said Glaz, according to BelTA.”Consultations on this topic are being held by the foreign ministries of the two countries,” he added.

“I am concerned by news that German citizen Rico Krieger was sentenced to death by Lukashenko’s regime in Belarus,” exiled Belarusian opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on X on Friday.

“We are collecting more information on his case at the moment. From what we know, he was accused of several so-called ‘extremism’ related crimes,” she added.