A German citizen was sentenced to death in Belarus. As reported by Ag. Reuters, the German Foreign Ministry is in contact with Minsk on this topic.
Also, Reuters, citing unofficial sources, wrote that the man was a mercenary who fought on the side of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Belarus, a close ally of Russia, is the only country in Europe that still applies the death penalty.
The German ministry did not name its national, but earlier on Friday the Belarusian human rights organization Viasna said a German national it identified as Rico Krieger had been sentenced to death in Belarus on terrorism-related and mercenary charges. activity citing unnamed sources.
In a statement posted on its website, Viasna said Krieger had been in custody since November 2023 and was sentenced on June 24.
The statement from the German ministry said: “The Foreign Ministry and the embassy in Minsk are providing consular support to the person in question and are working intensively with the Belarusian authorities on his behalf”.
Belarus' Justice Ministry, which has not reported a similar case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.