Belarus president pardons German on death row, state news agency reports

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has decided to pardon Rico Krieger, a German sentenced to death on terrorism and other charges, the BelTA state news agency reported on Tuesday, citing Lukashenko's press service.

Belarus' close ally Russia is currently talking with the West about a possible exchange involving U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich, convicted on spying charges he denies, and other Westerners being held in Russia.

Among those Moscow would like to free is Vadim Krasikov, a Russian serving a life sentence in Germany for murder - an exchange that would require Berlin to get something in return.

Germany's foreign office confirmed that Krieger had been pardoned, a government spokesperson said by e-mail.

"This news comes as a relief," the spokesperson said.

German authorities had confirmed earlier this month that one of its citizens had been sentenced to death in Belarus, which allowed Moscow to use its territory in 2022 to send troops into Ukraine. The ex-Soviet state is the only European country that still applies the death penalty.

In an interview with Belarus-1 state TV published last week, Krieger said Ukraine's SBU security service had told him to photograph military sites in Belarus last October, and to plant explosives on a train line southeast of Minsk. The explosives went off but no one was hurt.

It was not clear whether Krieger was speaking under duress. He said he regretted his actions and hoped to secure a pardon from Lukashenko.

Earlier on Tuesday, Lukashenko was quoted by BelTA as saying that, as president, he would have the "last word" on Krieger's case.

BelTA said Lukashenko had invited people involved to speak with him. The news agency published a photograph of him sitting at a table with five people, who the president said included a state investigator and Krieger's lawyer.

"The most difficult things in the fate of a president are cases like this, involving exceptional punishment," Lukashenko was quoted as saying.

"But a decision has to be made. I just want to consult with you in this regard; not to consult, but to hear your opinion,".

Krieger's lawyer, Vladimir Gorbach, was quoted as saying the meeting had been "frank".

"We're hoping the head of state will commit an act of humanity," Gorbach said.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva, Lucy Papachristou and Emma-Victoria Farr in Frankfurt; editing by Andrew Osborn, Kevin Liffey, Ros Russell, Ron Popeski and Marguerita Choy)