On 17 July 2009, Andrei Zhuk was sentenced to death by the Minsk Regional Court.
On 5 January 2016, the Minsk Regional Court handed down a death sentence to Vilejka resident Henadz Yakavitski for the brutal murder of a woman who resided with him.
The second death sentence that year was handed down on February 15 to a 31-year-old Siarhei Khmialeuski from Mačuliščy. This punishment was announced after a retrial. Initially, Khmialeuski was sentenced to life imprisonment. The man committed a brutal murder of two people. Previously, Siarhei had been repeatedly convicted for theft, robbery, disorderly conduct, and other offenses. The Supreme Court on May 6 considered Khmialeuski’s appeal but left the sentence unchanged. In November 2016, Khmialeuski’s relatives went on a scheduled visit, where they were informed that the death sentence had been carried out.
In early 2023, two parents from Sluck brutally beat their three-year-old son while under the influence of alcohol. The child subsequently died. The beating took place in front of three other young children. On 19 October 2023, the Minsk Regional Court sentenced Aliaksandr Taratuta to death and gave Anastasia Taratuta 25 years in a high-security correctional facility, as well as mandatory alcoholism treatment.
On 24 June 2024, the Minsk Regional Court delivered its verdict on Rico Krieger. Following the trial, he was given the harshest possible sentence: death by shooting. Rico Krieger is a German citizen. While in Belarus, he was charged with illegal actions concerning firearms, ammunition, and explosives; establishing an extremist entity or participating in one; intentionally rendering vehicles or communication lines inoperable; terrorism; and acting as an agent and mercenary.
It is known that Rico Krieger previously worked as a special security officer for the U.S. State Department in Berlin, where he gained experience in Armed Security Operations. After this position, he moved into the healthcare field, working as a paramedic and specialist in emergency medical care. According to his LinkedIn page, the man was a military doctor for the Red Cross.
On 30 July 2024, it emerged that Rico had written a petition for clemency addressed to Aliaksandr Lukashenka. Lukashenka subsequently held a meeting about this with “individuals directly involved in reviewing the case.” According to propagandists, Lukashenka decided to grant Krieger clemency in the evening of 30 July. He was released in a prisoner swap on 1 August 2024.
