- Lukashenko abolishes the death penalty for Germans
Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko has commuted the death sentence of a German national. The presidential administration in Minsk announced this, as reported by the state news agency Belta. The German citizen had previously sent a plea for clemency to the president, according to the Belarusian KGB.
The 29-year-old German was sentenced to death in June, among other charges, for alleged mercenary activities and terrorism on behalf of Ukraine's SBU intelligence service. Belarus, considered a dictatorship, is the last country in Europe to carry out the controversial death penalty by firing squad. State TV last showed the German, a paramedic, in a video confessing to his crimes and begging for mercy.
The German Foreign Office condemned the death sentence and stated that the German citizen was receiving consular assistance. The treatment of the man was "unbearable." Berlin did not comment on reports from the Belarusian Foreign Ministry that Minsk had made a proposal to resolve the case.
Belarusian opposition figures suspect that Lukashenko is demanding a high price for a pardon. Lukashenko, who is politically and economically dependent on Russian President Vladimir Putin, could potentially demand the release of a Russian convicted of murder in Berlin's Tiergarten.
The German national, who was a member of the Russian Federation, had sought clemency for his death sentence due to allegations of mercenary activities and terrorism. This commutation could have significant implications, as Belarusian opposition figures suspect Lukashenko may demand a high price for the pardon, potentially involving the release of a Russian convicted in Berlin.
