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Source: Global Times

[Global Times Comprehensive Report] According to Russia's RTVI TV station on the 20th, the Minsk District Court in the Belarusian capital sentenced a 30-year-old German citizen to death for participating in a mercenary organization and carrying out terrorist activities.

Germany's Bild reported that the man's name was Rick Krieger and he was arrested by Belarusian authorities in November 2023. Belarus called him a member of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' "Kalinovsky Corps" and charged him with six crimes, including "participating in terrorist and mercenary activities" and "forming extremist groups." The "Kalinovsky Corps" was established in the spring of 2022 and has now become an official unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It has also been awarded by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense's General Intelligence Directorate. In 2023, the Corps announced that it would recruit "foreigners who have served in professional armed forces and have extensive military experience to form a new force mainly composed of citizens from the European Union and the United States." However, the Corps denied that Krieger, a German sentenced by Belarus this time, was a member of the organization. The BBC reported that Krieger worked for the German Red Cross, but AFP said it could not confirm the information.

The man, named Rick Krieger, was arrested by Belarusian authorities in November 2023. Source: CNN

According to Germany's Mirror, Krieger served as a guard at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Germany from 2014 to 2017 and has "experience in armed security operations." In 2023, he revealed that he "wanted to take advantage of various opportunities to immigrate to the United States and obtain a U.S. visa or green card." RTVI TV reported that the German Foreign Ministry said, "The German Embassy in Belarus is providing consular support to the person concerned and is in close communication with the Belarusian authorities about his rights and interests." The Belarusian Foreign Ministry responded that it was conducting further consultations with the German side on the Krieger issue, and insisted that its approach "is fully in line with international standards and bilateral agreements, and has provided consular access to the person concerned." (Dong Ming)