Death sentences|According to Amnesty International, Belarus has sentenced up to 400 people to death since independence in 1991. However, death sentences for foreigners are rare.
Belarus has sentenced a 30-year-old German man to death, the country-based human rights organization Viasna Human Rights Center said on Friday, according to the AFP news agency.
According to Viasna, the Belarusian court convicted the man of a total of six crimes: for example, illegal activities related to weapons, blocking traffic or communication routes, founding or participating in extremist groups, intelligence activities, working as a mercenary, and terrorism.
According to the human rights organization, the German man will be executed by firing squad.
Viasnan according to the man was convicted in a secret trial at the end of June. The trial was held partially behind closed doors, and at the beginning it was not clear what exactly the man was accused of. The official news agency of Belarus did not report on the incident either.
However, according to Viasna, the German man’s sentence may be related to the activities of the so-called Kastus Kalinouski battalion of Belarusian volunteer fighters. The battalion has fought against Russia in the Ukrainian war.
According to Viasna, the German sentenced to death said in his Linkedin profile that he works for the German Red Cross as a field worker and as a security officer at the US Embassy in Berlin.
According to Viasna, this is the first time that a Belarusian court has sentenced someone for mercenary activities.
In exile living Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsihanouskaya said on Friday that he was very concerned about the verdict and that he intended to quickly obtain more information about the case.
Belarus has maintained the death penalty throughout its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is the only country in Europe where the death penalty is still in use.
According to the human rights organization Amnesty International, since independence, Belarus has executed up to 400 people, but executions of foreigners are rare.
According to AFP, it is not yet clear whether the German man has appealed his sentence. It is not yet clear what the convict’s possible connection was to Kastus Kalinouski’s battalion.
Belarus autocratic leader Alexander Lukashenko has ordered the arrest of thousands of dissidents and civil activists who have opposed him.
On Wednesday, Lukashenko announced that he had approved the reform, which will allow visa-free travel to Belarus from 35 European countries, including Finland.
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