This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
German citizen Rico Krieger, who was sentenced to death on terrorism charges by a Belarusian court, was pardoned by the country’s authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka on July 30 following a pardon request announced on the same day, according to a press release from Lukashenka’s office.
A Telegram channel associated with Lukashenka’s office said he convened a meeting with Belarusian KGB director Ivan Tertel, Krieger’s lawyer, and Lyudmila Gladkaya, who works for a state-owned newspaper and recently published the details of the trial against Krieger.
“[Lukashenka] invited people involved in the [pardoning] process to hear details, thoughts, and to get ‘opinions,'” the Pul Pergova channel said of the meeting that preceded the pardon.
Lukashenka’s office provided no additional information about the pardon.
Details of Krieger’s case were not known until the Vyasna human rights group reported earlier this month that he was sentenced to death in June for mercenary activity, terrorism, creating an extremist group, intentionally damaging a vehicle, and illegal operations with firearms and explosives.
According to Vyasna, it was the first trial in Belarus for “mercenary activity.”
On July 25, the state-run Belarus-1 television channel aired the video of the 30-year-old Krieger shown sitting behind bars in handcuffs and “repenting” for the crimes he was sentenced for.
During the 17-minute video Krieger said he was sorry and expressed hope that Lukashenka, who has run Belarus with an iron fist for 30 years, will pardon him.
The practice of showing so-called repentance videos by opposition politicians or activists made under apparent duress after their arrests has been common in Belarus for years.
Krieger’s “confession” appeared as though it was being used for propaganda purposes, with him speaking German with a voiceover translation into Russian.
After the broadcast, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said it was “unbearable how the Belarusian regime paraded a German national on television.”
She said the Foreign Office and the German Embassy in Minsk were in “close contact” with Krieger and his family and were providing consular support.
“We must do everything to ensure that his rights are maintained and remain protected,” Baerbock added.
