Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned German citizen Rico Krieger, who was sentenced to death in the country last month.
This news was reported on Tuesday by the Telegram channel Pul Pervogo, citing the Belarusian presidential press service.
Krieger is a former Red Cross employee.
He was accused by Belarusian prosecutors of being instructed by the Security Service of Ukraine to conduct reconnaissance and take photographs of Belarusian military installations in October.
Krieger was also found guilty of planting explosives along a railway line, leading to an explosion on October 5.
In a video released by Belarusian state television last Friday, Krieger admitted to planting the explosives and made a tearful appeal to Lukashenko, expressing deep regret and begging for forgiveness.
He described his actions as the greatest mistake of his life.
Despite no date being set for Krieger’s execution, it was reported that the sentence could have been carried out at any moment, as he had exhausted all avenues of appeal.
Earlier on Tuesday, Lukashenko was filmed discussing Krieger’s case with his advisors. He described the decision as one of the toughest he had faced during his time as head of state, emphasizing that the final word on the matter would be his.
