MINSK, July 26. /TASS/. German citizen Rico Krieger, sentenced to death in Belarus, said he hoped to receive a presidential pardon.
"I do hope for [Belarusian] President [Alexander] Lukashenko’s forgiveness and pardon," he told the Belarus-1 TV channel.
The convict also said he recently met with German diplomats. "They said there is nothing that the German government can do in this situation," he said, adding that he felt "totally abandoned" every day.
"The government is supposed to be fighting for my life, but only my family is doing so," he said. "I assume that Germany is reluctant to establish any contacts with Belarus. Although I still have a chance, Germany is doing nothing."
"My execution can take place at any time. I am truly remorseful for what I’ve done, and I find some solace in the fact that there were no casualties," the German citizen said. "However, there is a thought that scares me: in case of an execution, my body will not be returned to Germany and my relatives will not even have a chance to say goodbye to me."
The Minsk Region Court found Krieger guilty of committing an act of terrorism, collaboration with a foreign intelligence agency involving actions deliberately aimed at harming Belarus’ national security, recruitment work, mercenarism, establishment of an extremist group or participation in it. The defendant was also found guilty of illegal possession and carrying of explosives by an organized group, intentional damage of transport communications, which could lead to death, train derailment, accident or other grievous consequences. The German citizen decided not to appeal his verdict.
According to the SB. Belarus today newspaper, the German national was recruited by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on September 20, 2023, in order to carry out terror attacks against Belarusian National Security.
On October 2, 2023, Krieger entered Belarus as a tourist, in possession of a drone and mobile phones. He received a mission to carry out reconnaissance and photographing of targets in Osipovichi (Mogilev region). Then, he received coordinates and a photo of a cache containing an improvised explosive device and instructions on how to plant it on a railroad. He reportedly planted the device, which contained about 3 kg of octogen - a highly explosive substance - near the Ozerischa railway station. The explosion occurred on the day of planting, October 5, at 23:22, before a passenger train was supposed to arrive at the station.
According to the newspaper, Krieger was apprehended on October 6, when he planned to depart from Minsk to Baku.
Previously, Belarusian Foreign Minister Anatoly Glaz said that Belarus proposed specific options to resolve the situation with the sentenced German national, adding that consultation between the foreign ministries on this issue continue.