On 17 July 2009, Andrei Zhuk was sentenced to death by the Minsk Regional Court.
In early 2016, on 5 January, the Minsk Regional Court handed down a death sentence to Vileika resident Genady Yakavitsky for the murder of his girlfriend with particular cruelty (Part 2 of Article 139 of the CC).
The second death sentence that year was handed down on February 15 to a 31-year-old Sergei Khmelevsky from Machulishchi. This punishment was handed down after a review of the criminal case. Initially, Khmelevsky was sentenced to life imprisonment. The man committed a brutal murder of two people. Previously, Sergei had been repeatedly convicted for theft, robbery, hooliganism and other offenses. The Supreme Court on May 6 considered Khmelevsky's complaint but left the sentence unchanged. In November 2016, Khmelevsky's relatives went to his scheduled visit where they were informed that the death sentence had been carried out.
In early 2023, two parents from Slutsk, in an intoxicated state, beat their three-year-old son with particular cruelty. As a result, the child died. The beating took place in the presence of three other young children. The Minsk Regional Court in an open session on October 19, 2023 sentenced Alexander Taraturta to death, assigned Anastasia Taraturta 25 years in a strict regime penal colony and mandatory treatment for alcoholism.
In the Minsk Regional Court on June 24, 2024, a verdict was passed against Rika Kriger. As a result of the trial, he was assigned the highest measure - the death penalty by shooting. Rika Kriger is a German citizen. In Belarus, he was accused under six serious articles of the Criminal Code: Article 295 of the CC - Illegal actions concerning firearms, ammunition and explosives; Article 361-1 of the CC - Creation of an extremist formation or participation in it; Article 309 of the CC - Intentional rendering inoperable of transport or communication lines; Article 289 of the CC - Act of terrorism; Article 358-1 of the CC - Agent activities; Article 133 of the CC - Mercenary activities.
It is known that Rika Kriger previously worked as a special security officer for the US 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 July 30, 2024, it became known that Rika had written a petition for clemency addressed to Alexander Lukashenko. The latter, in turn, held a meeting about this with "people who directly relate to the review of this case". Already in the evening of July 30, as propagandists write, Lukashenko decided to grant Kriger clemency. He was released in an exchange on August 1, 2024.
