Minsk/Berlin
The federal government is “deeply concerned” about a report broadcast on Belarusian television videos of a German sentenced to death. “Unfortunately, it is common practice in Belarus to show people in videos or on television,” said a spokeswoman for the Foreign office in Berlin. “And we are of course very concerned about whether the dignity of the people affected is being violated on a large scale by such displays.”
The spokeswoman called on the leadership in Belarus (formerly White Russia) to “refrain from such a practice in principle, but of course also in this case.”
In a video broadcast on state television on Thursday, German ruler Alexander Lukashenko, who has been sentenced to death, asks for mercy. The German government is doing nothing to save him, the man says. According to authorities in Minsk, he has been convicted of terrorism on the orders of the Ukrainian secret service, among other things. “I plead guilty, absolutely,” he says in the video. In some cases, the German statements can be clearly heard between the Russian translations.
Authoritarian Belarus is the last country in Europe to carry out the death penalty, which is by shooting in the neck. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the man received consular care. There are many questions about the circumstances under which the video was made.
The man was sentenced to death in June. However, the verdict was not announced until a month later by civil rights groups. The Foreign Ministry in Minsk announced that it had made suggestions to Berlin on how to resolve the situation. There was speculation that Belarus, an ally of Russia, might be interested in a prisoner exchange. The federal government has not commented on the matter.
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