July 22, 2024

A German citizen has been sentenced to death in Belarus after being charged with terrorism and mercenary activities, according to a Belarusian human rights group. The group Human Rights Center “Viasna” said the German national is a 29-year-old German Red Cross employee named Rico Krieger. According to his LinkedIn profile, he worked as an emergency medical technician for the German Red Cross and as an armed security officer for the US Embassy in Berlin. Krieger was sentenced in the Minsk Regional Court on June 24, Viasna said on its website on Friday. Krieger was charged under six articles of the Criminal Code of Belarus, according to Viasna, including “mercenary activity,” “agent activity,” an “act of terrorism,” the “creation of an extremist formation,” “intentional disrepair of a vehicle or communication lines,” and “illegal actions in relation to firearms, ammunition and explosives.” Viasna also reported that Krieger was found guilty of “arranging an explosion in order to influence decision-making by authorities, intimidate the population, [and] destabilize public order.” It is unclear exactly what led up to Krieger’s alleged crimes or when they occurred. “The Federal Foreign Office and the Embassy in Minsk are providing consular support to the individual concerned and are working intensively on his behalf with the Belarusian authorities,” a spokesperson from the German Foreign Office told CNN on Saturday, in an apparent reference to Krieger. “The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane form of punishment that Germany rejects under all circumstances. We are actively working worldwide to abolish it and are strongly advocating against its execution in all affected cases,” the spokesperson added. Belarus says it has ensured consular access to a German national, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Anatoly Glaz said in a statement on X. Minsk has “proposed a number of options” to Germany “for the development of the situation,” he said, according to Belarusian state media BelTA.  “There have been contacts with the German side on this topic, of course. This criminal is a German citizen and we understand the German side’s concern for him,” said Glaz, according to BelTA.”Consultations on this topic are being held by the foreign ministries of the two countries,” he added. The German Red Cross (DRK) told CNN’s German affiliate N-TV that while “the man in question,” without naming Krieger, had previously worked for them, his stay abroad was not related to his work with the DRK. CNN has also reached out to the German Red Cross for comment. “I am concerned by news that German citizen Rico Krieger was sentenced to death by Lukashenko’s regime in Belarus,” exiled Belarusian opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on X on Friday. “We are collecting more information on his case at the moment. From what we know, he was accused of several so-called ‘extremism’ related crimes,” she added. Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/20/europe/rico-krieger-german-death-sentence-belarus-intl-latam/index.html

Pakistan on Sunday asked the German government to take action against the “gang of extremists” which attacked its consulate in Frankfurt, endangering the lives of its consular staff.  In a statement issued by the Foreign Office, Pakistan strongly condemned the incident and the failure of the German authorities to protect the sanctity and security of the premises of its consular mission. The Foreign Office’s statement comes a day after a group of Afghan nationals vandalised and attacked the Pakistani consulate, pelting stones at the building and removing the country’s flag. The statement said that the responsibility to protect the premises and ensure the security of diplomats falls under the host government under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963. “We are conveying our strong protest to the German government and urge to take immediate measures to fulfil its responsibilities under the Vienna Conventions,” the Foreign Office said. Pakistan also sought the German authorities to take immediate measures to arrest and prosecute those involved in the incident and hold to account those responsible for the lapses in security. The video of the incident went viral on the internet in which the Afghan nationals could be seen storming the Pakistani consulate. There are reports that they also tried burning the Pakistani flag. According to media reports, the situation has drawn significant attention among the international communities, raising concerns about the diplomatic security of the installations. However, the officials have been assured of a thorough investigation by the German authorities in Frankfurt. They have also arrested several people who are being investigated after the video went viral. It is, however, unclear as to what was the cause of the incident. Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1211883-pakistani-consulate-in-germanys-frankfurt-vandalised-by-afghan-nationals

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/7/22/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-to-vaccinate-troops-as-polio-seen-in-gaza