Activists claim German Red Cross paramedic sentenced to death in Belarus

ADVERTISING

The Minsk Regional Court in Belarus sentenced a German citizen to death last month, human rights activists reported on Friday.

The man, Rico Krieger, was put on trial in May on charges of terrorism, as well as “mercenary activity,” “founding an extremist group,” “intentionally damaging a vehicle,” and “illegal operations with firearms, ammunition and explosives.”

According to the activists, the verdict was announced at the end of June.

Further details about the case, such as whether Krieger is still alive, are currently unknown.

According to Krieger’s LinkedIn profile, he has been working as a paramedic for the German Red Cross since 2021.

He also worked as a security officer at the US Embassy in Berlin between 2014 and 2017.

Dissidents continue to be silenced

Belarus, a former Soviet republic, is the last country in Europe that still applies the death penalty. Every year, several people are executed by firing squad.

Many of the charges in the Krieger case carry the death penalty for acts of sabotage by a convicted terrorist. This law was introduced in May 2022 as part of President Alexander Lukashenko’s crackdown on protesters.

Lukashenko was also subject to sanctions by the EU and the US for his tacit support of the Russian war in Ukraine, but also for his authoritarian rule and violent suppression of democracy.

Since the major protest movement of 2020 against the re-election of Lukashenko – who has been in power since 1994 – many opponents of the terrorist attack have been charged and arrested for attempting or preparing it.

Numerous opposition members were sentenced to long prison terms and independent NGOs and media were banned and branded as extremist.

Krieger’s trial is believed to be part of a recent escalation in the persecution of the Lukashenko regime.

At the beginning of the month, the Brest Regional Court opened a case against 63-year-old Natallya Malets. She is accused of “promoting extremist activities” because she allegedly transferred money to political prisoners 125 times. She faces up to six years in prison.

On July 8, the trial of journalist Aliaksandr Ales Kirkevich on the same charge began in absentia in the Grodno Regional Court. It remains unclear what Kirkevich, a writer and local historian, did to be charged with this crime.

The indictment brought against him in March also accuses another independent journalist, Iryna Charniauka, of the same crime.