German sentenced to death in Belarus
Gershkovich sentenced – “He should be exchanged”
Western politicians have reacted with sharp criticism to the harsh verdict against US journalist Evan Gershkovich in Russia and to the death sentence against a German citizen in Belarus. Russia correspondent Christoph Wanner analyses the situation.
A German citizen is said to have been sentenced to death in Belarus for “terrorism” and “mercenary behavior.” The 30-year-old is believed to have fought in a Belarusian unit on the side of Ukraine against Russia.
IAccording to human rights organizations, a German citizen has been sentenced to death in the former Soviet republic of Belarus. As the Belarusian organization Vyazna announced on Friday, the 30-year-old was found guilty of six criminal offenses in a secret trial on June 24th. He had previously been accused of “terrorism” and “mercenary behavior,” among other things.
The conviction is reportedly linked to the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment, a military unit of Belarusian citizens who are fighting on the side of Ukraine against Russia. Belarus is officially neutral in the war. However, Russia also invaded Ukraine through Belarusian territory in its large-scale attack. Relations between Minsk and Kiev are tense.
The former rescue worker was sentenced to be shot because of his alleged involvement in a bomb attack. The verdict was announced about a month ago, but was only made public now. The authorities in Minsk have not officially announced the verdict. The organization Vyazna is highly respected internationally; its founder Ales Byaljatski was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.
“The Foreign Office and the Embassy provide consular assistance to those affected”
When asked by the German Press Agency, the Foreign Ministry in Berlin said that the case was known. “The Foreign Office and the embassy in Minsk are providing consular support to the person concerned and are working intensively on his behalf with the Belarusian authorities,” they said in a statement. Berlin fundamentally rejects the death penalty as cruel and inhumane.
After the invasion began, opponents of the Russian war of aggression in Belarus also rendered unusable infrastructure facilities in their own country, such as railway lines, which were used by the Russian military.
The German, originally from Berlin, has been in custody since November 2023. According to information from Vyazna, before his time as a rescue worker, he is said to have also worked for a short time as a security guard at the US Embassy in Berlin.
Ruler Alexander Lukashenko has ruled Belarus continuously since 1994. When he declared himself the winner after the controversial 2020 election, there were mass protests across the country that were brutally suppressed. More than 1,000 people are considered political prisoners in the country. Belarus is the only country in Europe where the death penalty is still imposed and carried out – exclusively against men. Those convicted are executed with firearms. The dates of the executions are not published, and the bodies of those executed are not handed over to their families. They are also not informed of the burial location.