Death penalty: Lukashenko lifts death penalty for Germans

Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko has lifted the death sentence against a German. This was announced by the presidential office in Minsk, as reported by the state agency Belta. The German citizen had previously sent a request for clemency to the president, according to the Belarusian secret service KGB.

The 29-year-old German was sentenced to death in June for alleged mercenary activity and terrorism on behalf of the Ukrainian secret service SBU. Belarus (formerly Belarus), which is considered a dictatorship, is the last country in Europe to carry out the internationally controversial death penalty, namely by shooting him in the back of the neck. Belarusian state television recently showed the German, a paramedic, in a video in which he pleaded guilty and asked for mercy.

Foreign Office speaks of “relieving news”

The Foreign Office in Berlin confirmed the pardon to the German Press Agency. A spokeswoman said: “This is a relief.” The Foreign Office had previously condemned the death penalty and announced that the German citizen would receive consular assistance. The way the man was treated was “unbearable.” However, Berlin did not comment on information from the Belarusian Foreign Ministry that Minsk had made a negotiation proposal to resolve the case.

The Belarusian opposition suspects that Lukashenko is demanding a high price for a pardon. Lukashenko could, for example, demand the release of a Russian convicted in Berlin for murder in Berlin’s Tiergarten park on behalf of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, on whom he is politically and economically dependent.