Russia: unprecedented legal action against the Wagner group
Building destroyed by strikes near the town of Saraqeb, in the province of Idleb (photo illustration).
The tenth anniversary of the start of the revolution in Syria and the ensuing war is marked by unprecedented legal action in Russia.
Amer ALHAMWE / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The tenth anniversary of the start of the revolution in Syria and the ensuing war is marked by unprecedented legal action in Russia.
For the first time, a complaint is filed against the Russian mercenaries of the Wagner group who have been operating in Syria for several years.
Six of them are accused of having tortured and mutilated a Syrian citizen in June 2017. No investigation has yet been opened, neither in Syria nor in Russia.
A collective of NGOs therefore decided to remedy this.
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With our correspondent in Moscow,
Daniel Vallot
These are atrocious images that emerged on the internet in the summer of 2017. We see a man unarmed, beaten and tortured to death, then mutilated and beheaded.
Around him, men in military fatigues, speak Russian.
Suspected members of the Wagner group, a group of mercenaries active in Syria for several years.
Identified victim
The victim was identified by several of his relatives who remained in Lebanon.
And it is in the name of his brother that the complaint is filed this Monday in Moscow, by a collective of NGOs.
Alexander Cherkassov, is a member of the NGO Memorial: “
This is a terrible murder, acts of torture, which amount to war crimes.
And this crime must not go unpunished.
You know, we experienced the same thing during the Chechen wars: atrocious crimes were perpetrated and in some cases no investigation was opened.
It takes very great efforts to tear down this wall of impunity.
"
No liability
This wall will be all the more difficult to tear down as the Russian authorities refuse to recognize the very existence of Wagner.
Russia considers that it has no responsibility for the actions of these mercenaries, since in its eyes they have no legal existence.
For Memorial and for the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), this complaint is therefore also a way of forcing Russia to recognize its responsibility for the crimes perpetrated abroad by Wagner.
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To read also:
Syria: the Russian forces targeted in Idleb
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