Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is considering whether to grant clemency to Rico Krieger, a German national who has been sentenced to death on charges of terrorism and other offenses, according to the BelTA state news agency. Belarus's ally Russia is currently in discussions with Western countries regarding a potential prisoner swap involving US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been convicted of espionage charges he denies, along with other Westerners detained in Russia. Among those Moscow wishes to release is Vadim Krasikov, a Russian serving a life sentence in Germany for murder, which would necessitate Berlin providing some form of compensation. Germany has recently confirmed that one of its citizens has been sentenced to death in Belarus, a country that permitted Russia to use its territory in 2022 to deploy troops into Ukraine and remains the sole European nation that still enforces the death penalty. In an interview with Belarus-1 state TV, Krieger revealed that Ukraine's SBU security service had instructed him to photograph military installations in Belarus last October and to place explosives on a railway line southeast of Minsk. The explosives detonated without causing any injuries. It remains uncertain whether Krieger's statements were made under coercion. He expressed remorse for his actions and expressed hope for a pardon from Lukashenko. Lukashenko was quoted by BelTA as stating that he would have the final say in Krieger's case. BelTA also reported that Lukashenko had convened a meeting with those involved. The news agency released a photo of the president seated at a table with five individuals, including a state investigator and Krieger's attorney. Lukashenko noted that cases involving such severe penalties are among the most challenging for a president to handle. He emphasized the need to make a decision and sought the opinions of those present rather than merely consulting with them. Krieger's attorney, Vladimir Gorbach, described the meeting as candid. Gorbach expressed hope that the president would demonstrate humanity and indicated that Lukashenko would contemplate the matter before reaching a decision.