German military doctor reportedly sentenced to death in Belarus | Belarus

A German military doctor accused by Belarus of committing crimes including “terrorism” and “mercenary activity” has been sentenced to death by firing squad, according to a Belarusian human rights group.

Rico Krieger, 30, was found guilty under six articles of the Belarusian criminal code during a trial held in late June, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported on Friday.

Part of the trial was held behind closed doors, the exact charges against Krieger were not immediately clear, and the official Belarusian news agency did not report anything about his case.

The case may be linked to the Kastuś Kalinoŭski regiment, a group of Belarusian volunteer fighters fighting against Russia in the war in Ukraine, Viasna reported.

This is the first time that a person has been tried for mercenary activity in Belarus, the human rights organization said.

According to a LinkedIn profile, Viasna was owned by Krieger, who worked as a medical worker for the German Red Cross and as an armed security guard for the U.S. Embassy in Berlin.

Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said she was “concerned” by the reports and was “gathering more information about her case.”

Belarus is the only European country that actively uses the death penalty, reserving it for serious crimes, including murder with aggravated circumstances, terrorism and treason.

Russia still retains the death penalty, but has imposed a moratorium and has not carried out any executions since the mid-1990s.

It was not immediately clear whether Krieger has appealed the sentence.

The Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment is named after the Polish-Belarusian writer and leading figure of the January Uprising against the Russian Empire in 1863.

The group is one of several volunteer units founded abroad that fight alongside the Ukrainian military. It is considered an extremist group in Belarus, a close ally of Russia.

It is not yet clear what connection Krieger might have had to the group, but Belarusian opposition media reported that he may have been linked to a unit of the regiment known as the Western Battalion.

He was convicted of six crimes, Viasna said: unlawful acts related to firearms; disabling transportation or communication routes; creating or participating in an extremist group; intelligence activity; mercenary activity; and terrorism.

According to Amnesty International, Belarus has executed up to 400 people since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Executions of foreign citizens are rare.

The authoritarian regime of longtime President Alexander Lukashenko has arrested thousands of dissidents and civic activists who oppose him.

In a surprise move on Wednesday, Minsk announced it would open its borders visa-free to citizens of 35 European countries for 90-day stays, in a bid to improve frosty relations with the West.