German citizen sentenced to death in Belarus for fighting in Ukraine

Jul 20 () – A German citizen has been sentenced to death in Belarus after being accused of fighting in the war in Ukraine, according to a verdict reported this Saturday by the German newspaper ‘Bild’.

The convicted man has been identified as Rico Krieger, a 30-year-old Berliner who worked as an ambulance paramedic for the Red Cross.

Krieger was arrested in Belarus on November 6, accused of being part of the ‘Kastus Kalinovsky’ regiment, an opponent of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and, by extension, Moscow, who fight alongside Ukrainian forces.

Although the regiment itself denies that there was a German in its ranks, Bild reports that Krieger was tried in June before a court in the Belarusian capital, Minsk.

The trial lasted less than a month and at the end the German was sentenced to death for “terrorism” and “participation in an extremist community.”

The German Foreign Ministry has only said it is aware of the verdict, Bild adds, but has already begun diplomatic manoeuvres to save the citizen’s life.

This was suggested by the spokesman for the Belarusian Foreign Minister, Anatoly Glaz, who explained that Belarus has proposed “specific solutions” to Germany to improve the situation of German citizens.

“Taking into account the request of the German Foreign Ministry, the Belarusian side has proposed specific decisions on the options available for the development of the situation. Consultations on this issue are being conducted through the foreign ministries of both countries,” he explained at a press conference reported by TASS.