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BERLIN — The German government is “worried” about a German citizen sentenced to death in Belarus but declined to comment on whether he might be included in a large-scale prisoner swap.
“The chancellor is of course aware of the case and, like the entire government, is worried about these events, especially in connection with the death sentence,” a government spokesperson said at a press conference in Berlin on Friday.
Belarusian state television on Thursday broadcast a video in which the German citizen, Rico Krieger, asked Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko for mercy and accused the German government of inaction. Experts, however, assume his statement was recorded under duress.
“I do hope President Lukashenko will forgive and pardon me … Although I still have a chance, Germany is doing nothing,” Russian news agency Tass quoted Krieger as saying in the 15-minute recording entitled “Confession of a German terrorist,” which shows Krieger sitting behind bars in handcuffs.
A spokesperson for the foreign office said the ministry had been providing the detainee with intensive consular support, which included prison visits and legal support.
A Minsk court sentenced Krieger to execution by firing squad in late June for allegedly placing an explosive device on a railway line in Minsk. Krieger, who according to a Linkedin profile featuring his name used to work for the Red Cross and the United States Embassy in Berlin, said he had been asked by the Ukrainian secret service to photograph Belarusian military sites, various media outlets reported.
But the conviction only became known late last week due to the report of Minsk-based human rights organization Viasna.
During the trial, his actions were connected to the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment (consisting of Belarusians fighting for Ukraine), Viasna reported.
Lukashenko, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has backed Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and allowed its territory to be used in the Russian assault.
Krieger’s death sentence became public on the same day a Russian court convicted American journalist Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in prison for espionage.
Experts suspect that the Russian and Belarusian governments are working to tee up an exchange involving Krieger, Gershkovich, and imprisoned Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.
In exchange, they’d likely want Vadim Krasikov, a Russian counterintelligence service agent jailed in Germany for murdering a former Chechen commander in Berlin’s Tiergarten park in 2019.
“There are many indications that an exchange of prisoners is being sought … possibly this is about a package solution in exchange for the Tiergarten murderer,” Gesine Dornblüth, a former Russia correspondent for German public radio Deutschlandfunk, said in an interview.
Belarus is the last country in Europe to use the death penalty. Currently, 1,387 people are considered to be political prisoners in the country, according to Viasna.
