"An exceptional case." The coordinator of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty" spoke about the sentence of Rico Krieger
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- Human rights defender Andrei Paluda has been fighting for many years for the complete abolition of the death penalty.. Photo: spring96.org
On July 19, it became known that a month ago the Minsk Regional Court sentenced a 29-year-old employee of the German Red Cross, Rico Krieger, to execution by firing squad. He was charged under six serious articles of the Criminal Code, including Part 3 of Article 289 of the Criminal Code (act of terrorism). The campaign "Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty in Belarus" has received confirmation of the death sentence from several sources, but continues to clarify the details. Campaign coordinator Andrei Paluda comments on the case and the death sentence of the German citizen.
"It is already possible to say that information about the imposition of the death sentence against the German citizen is confirmed. Of course, the detailed circumstances of the case are not known yet. As always, the issue of the death penalty in Belarus is under a veil of secrecy.
However, I want to draw attention to several circumstances that make this case exceptional.
Firstly, for the first time during the campaign "Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty in Belarus" (since 2009), a foreign citizen was sentenced to death.
I remember the outcry in 2013 about the death sentence against Eduard Lykau, who was initially called a Russian citizen. Then the Russian embassy contacted the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. And thus it became known that Lykau was indeed a native of Moscow, had a family and children there, but was still a citizen of Belarus.
Secondly, it is important that for the first time, as far as we know, a person was sentenced to death under Part 3 of Article 289 of the Criminal Code (act of terrorism). Because according to the amendments to the legislation made on April 27, 2022, this is possible even because of an "attempt" to commit a crime. Once again, we emphasize that we do not yet know all the circumstances of the issue, but this may be the case.
Taking into account the situation and trends in the judicial system of Belarus, experts of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty in Belarus" after the changes in 2022 drew attention to the fact that this increases the risk that the death penalty may be imposed in an arbitrary, illegal, and discriminatory manner."
It should be noted that according to the criminal legislation of Belarus, the death penalty can be imposed on citizens of other countries, since there are no such restrictions.
Employee of the German Red Cross sentenced to death in Belarus
