Krieger is a German citizen born in
Berlin. He has one child, a daughter. Between 2015 and 2016, Krieger worked as an armed security officer for Pond Security at the
US embassy in Berlin, where he familiarized himself with
operations security. During this time, Krieger reportedly had plans to apply for a
US passport and migrate to the US. Some
independent publications, however, challenged the validity of this information provided by Belarusian state media, including the unlikely circumstances of his mission, as foreign volunteers for Ukraine had never been known to require the execution of such risky missions as an initiation to join.
Activities leading to detention According to Belarusian authorities and confessions he later made, Krieger received orders from the SBU no later than 20 September 2023 to carry out the mission. Under orders from the SBU, Krieger first traveled to the
Mogilev Region, and then to the railway station in
Asipovichy to take
reconnaissance photos and record the coordinates of military objects. with the railway station serving as a crucial hub for transporting military equipment around the capital
Minsk. These tasks were reportedly completed, and the data collected was sent to the SBU over the internet. Of the charges, Krieger only pleaded guilty to "agent activity", but refused to
testify. The judge for the trial was Aleh Lapeka of the Regional Court, the state prosecutor was supported by Tatsiana Hrakun of Prosecutor General's Office, and Krieger's lawyer was Vladimir Gorbach Once the verdict was released, human rights groups including the
Viasna Human Rights Centre and
International Federation for Human Rights immediately sought ways to lessen Krieger's sentencing, citing prior
precedent of the death penalty in Belarus which had been reserved only for acts resulted in murder, something Krieger had not committed. Exiled Belarusian activist
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya also condemned the use of the death penalty against Krieger. Russian President
Vladimir Putin had suggested a prisoner swap could be initiated to free Krieger in exchange for
Vadim Krasikov, Russian
Federal Security Service (FSB) officer and hitman imprisoned by Germany. substituting his death penalty with a
life sentence. The announcement of Krieger's pardon was broadcast on the state-run
All-National TV (ONT TV), in which Krieger in tears thanked Lukashenko for his decision. Chancellor
Olaf Scholz's spokesperson, Steffen Hebestreit, said the exchange of Krasikov for Krieger had been arranged in "cooperation with the United States and European partners" and was "not taken lightly" by the German government. This goal was partially satisfied later the same month, when on 16 August Lukashenko pardoned thirty of these political prisoners convicted of "protest-related crimes" in a decree published on 4 September.
Investigation back in Germany On the day of Krieger's release, his spouse's apartment in Germany was searched for potential evidence. On 28 August 2024, the German
Public Prosecutor General began an investigation against Krieger for allegedly causing the explosion in Belarus, a crime punishable under Section 308 of the Criminal Code of Germany "
Strafgesetzbuch". Additionally, the investigation sought to determine the reason for Krieger's travel to Belarus in the first place. Krieger maintained his innocence by asserting he was unaware of the contents of the backpack, and had no knowledge it would cause an explosion. == Notes ==