Chancellor Olaf Scholz is aware of the case of a German citizen sentenced to death in Belarus and is concerned, a government spokesman said Friday.

The German Foreign Ministry confirmed last week that a German citizen had been sentenced to death in Belarus. The Belarusian human rights group Viasna identified him as Rico Krieger and said his charges related to terrorism and mercenary activities.

“Like the entire federal government, he (Scholz) is concerned about these events,” a German government spokesman told a regular press conference when asked about the matter.

Krieger describes himself as a counselor.

Russian news agency Tass reported Thursday, citing footage from state television channel Belarus-1, that Krieger had asked Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for forgiveness.

Tass quoted Krieger as saying that Ukraine’s SBU security service ordered him to photograph military sites in Belarus and plant a backpack on train tracks southeast of the capital Minsk, which later exploded. No one was injured.

“I really hope that President Lukashenko will forgive me and grant me clemency,” Krieger said.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called it “intolerable how the Belarusian regime is exposing a German citizen on television.”

“We must do everything we can to ensure that his rights are protected. The death penalty has been abolished in Europe,” Baerbock said.

The local German consulate is in contact with the detainee, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Berlin said.

She criticised the practice of showing prisoners on video, adding that it undermines the dignity of those involved and that Germany is calling on Belarus to stop this practice.