Belarus shocked

German sentenced to death cries on TV

The Belarusian authorities want to execute the German Rico Krieger by shooting him in the neck.

(Bild: Screenshot Belarus-1)

In a video broadcast on state television, a German sentenced to death in Belarus (formerly Belarus) wept bitterly and begged the ruthless ruler Alexander Lukashenko for mercy. The desperate man complained that the German government was doing nothing to save him.

Only his own family was still fighting for his life. The man described in the video that no one from the official side was doing anything for him. "I'm still alive, there's still time to negotiate, it's not too late," he pleaded. "The government should fight for me." In the video, which was apparently launched by the Belarusian leadership, the convict tearfully begged to see his daughter, his girlfriend and his father again.

He repeatedly emphasized that he had made the biggest mistake of his life. "I regret every single second," he confessed. "I can only say I'm lucky that no one was killed or injured. Thank God!" His last hope is a pardon from ruler Lukashenko, who is considered Europe's last dictator and has already had death sentences carried out against foreigners. "I can only hope that the president of this country, Mr. Lukashenko, will forgive me."

The Belarusian authorities want to execute the German Rico Krieger by shooting him in the neck.

(Bild: Screenshot Belarus-1)

Belarus is the only country in Europe that still imposes the death penalty
The man was sentenced to death in June - among other things for "terrorism on behalf of the Ukrainian secret service". However, the verdict only became known a month later through civil rights organizations. "I plead guilty, definitely", he conceded.

Authoritarian Belarus is the last country in Europe to still carry out the death penalty, which is carried out by firing squad. The Federal Foreign Office in Berlin had stated that the case was known. The man is receiving consular assistance. The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane form of punishment that Germany rejects under all circumstances, they said in an angry statement. However, the office did not comment on a negotiation offer submitted by Minsk. The Foreign Ministry in Minsk announced that it had made proposals to Berlin on how to resolve the situation. No details were given.

Hope for prisoner exchange
There has been speculation that Belarus, which is allied with Russia, could be aiming for a prisoner exchange. Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is interested in the return of a Russian who was convicted in Germany for a murder in Berlin's Kleiner Tiergarten on behalf of Russian authorities. Putin received Lukashenko on the monastery island of Valaam in Lake Ladoga near St. Petersburg.

Several human rights organizations had called on the authorities in Belarus to stop the execution. The death sentence is particularly alarming because there are numerous and systematic violations of the right to due process and a fair trial in Belarusian courts, warned the organization Libereco at the beginning of the week.