A German citizen was convicted to death in Belarus, as found guilty of ‘terrorist acts’ and “wages”, the Non-Governmental Organization Wjasna announced earlier today.

According to the NGO, it has been confirmed that 30-year-old Rico Kriegerwho, as Belarusian journalist Hana Lyubakova reports in her post on X, was a military doctor for the German Red Cross, was sentenced to death on June 24 by a court in Minsk. The case is related to the order “Kastus Kalinouski”, which consists of Belarusians who are fighting on the side of Ukraine against the Russian army. The battalion has however stated that Krieger did not belong to its ranks. Wjasna also claims that Rico Krieger, who has been detained since November 2023, faces six criminal charges, including “mercenary”, “terrorist action” and “creating an extremist organization”, and is also accused of orchestrating explosions in Belarus.

The organization Wjasna, whose founder is the – jailed – 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate ‘Ales Bialatsky, has been outlawed in Belarus and clarifies that it does not have precise information about the charges against the convicted German.

Belarus is the last country in Europe that still applies the death penalty. The executions are carried out with rifles and under conditions of extreme secrecy, on dates which are not announced. The bodies of the prisoners are not handed over to their families and they are not informed of the place of burial. These are usually male serial killers.